Lost Memories
by Rogue Ronin
Summary: Kaye could never remember her past, but when she recieves a chilling phone call she may find out she can't always keep the past away, whether she wants to or not. Completed
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: Hey hi! How's everybody? Ok here it goes, there's no way that I own anything dealing with the Ronin Warriors, rights or otherwise. So don't even try and go there, thanks. The only characters that belong to me are: Kaye, & Lightning. so grab some snackage, kick back and enjoy the fic!   
  
Thanks Caspian for the translations! my email is cokeacola_75@hotmail.com  
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Lost Memories  
  
By: Rogue Ronin  
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(english translations)  
  
Outside, the snow covered the ground like a thick blanket, covering everything in sight. Cold winds blew through the bare trees, making the branches bend to its will. While inside of the Koji mansion, a warm fire was crackling in the fireplace. The inhabitants were keeping warm, by sitting around the fire and drinking hot chocolate. While everyone was having small talk, the phone rang.   
  
"I wonder who would be calling this time of the night?" Mia said as she began to get up from the floor.  
  
"Don't worry about it Mia, I got it. Moshi moshi (hi) Koji residence." Kaye replied as she was on the phone. The others became quiet so she would be able to hear the person on the other end.  
  
"I don't believe it, after all this time! Is it truely you Karasu (Raven)?" asked the voice on the phone.  
  
"I'm sorry, but I think that you have the wrong number. No one by the name of Karasu (Raven) lives here." Kaye replied in confusion.   
  
"Karasu (Raven)! Don't you remember me?" asked the voice.  
  
"Who's this Karasu (Raven) that you're trying to reach? Maybe I can help you..." Kaye replied.  
  
"You are Karasu (Raven), why don't you remember me?" asked the voice now getting angry.  
  
"What do you mean that I'm Karasu (Raven)? If I'm the person that you say I am, then how could I forget someone that I've never met?" Kaye asked as she was trying to keep her voice steady.  
  
"Karasu (Raven)? How could you forget about your mother?" asked the voice angrily.  
  
Kaye turned a ghostly white, and almost dropped the phone. "Mother?" Kaye asked in a whisper. Kento quickly got up from where he was sitting and took the phone from Kaye's shaking hands.  
  
"Hey who is this? Hello! Answer me, who is this?" Kento asked angrily.   
  
The person on the other end of the phone quickly hung up. Kento glared at the phone for a quick second hung it up, and started to guide Kaye back to the fireplace.  
  
"Kaye, are you alright? Who was on the phone?" Mia asked in concern as she looked over at her best friend.  
  
"She said that she was my mother, but she couldn't be, it's not possible." Kaye whispered as she stared into the fire.  
  
"Kaye, are you sure that you're alright? I could make you something to calm your nerves if you would like me to?" Cye asked as he looked towards her with concerned eyes.  
  
"Thanks Cye, but you don't need to go through all that trouble. I think that I'm just going to turn in for the night. I'll see all of you in the morning, good night." Kaye replied as she got up and went to her room. The others watched in concern, as Kaye ran up the stairs and slammed the door.  
  
"Kento, when you went to talk on the phone, did the person on the other end say anything?" Rowen asked.  
  
"As soon as I got on the line and asked who's there, they hung up pretty quick. Whoever it was, shook Kaye up pretty well. I never saw her turn that white before, it was like she saw a ghost or something." Kento replied with a frown.  
  
"Something else about that phone conversation didn't seem right." Sage said as he was thinking.  
  
"What are you getting at Sage?" Ryo asked as he looked at him.  
  
"What I mean is, why would the other person on the other end of the phone call Kaye, Karasu (Raven)? It doesn't make any sense." Sage replied.  
  
"Ok then Sage, then why would Kaye react the way that she did?" Rowen asked as he was trying to make sense of things.  
  
"I don't know Rowen, something just doesn't feel right." Sage replied as he leaned back into the couch.  
  
"Alright, hold it right there you guys. What are you trying to say? Are you saying that Kaye did know the person on the other end, and she's hiding something? She wouldn't, I know that she wouldn't keep anything from us." Kento asked as he began to get a little angry with them.  
  
"Calm down Kento, I'm sure that's not what Sage and Rowen are saying. Mia, you've known Kaye longer than any of us. Has she said anything to you about her family?" Ryo asked as he and the others looked over at her in concern.  
  
Mia was quiet for a while before she spoke. "Once, when I asked about her family, she said that she doesn't remember them. The only thing that she does remember, is that she saw her mother being killed right in front of her eyes, and then everything went dark." Mia explained quietly.  
  
"No wonder she seemed sad whenever we talked about each of our familys?" Sage said.  
  
"That would explain to why her mind is blocking out the memories." Rowen replied as he leaned back into his chair.  
  
"You mean that her mind is blocking that memory so it could protect her? Rowen, how could it do that, wouldn't she remember what happened anyway?" Ryo asked in confusion.  
  
"I'm not sure Ryo, Kaye's the one to have studied in that particular area not me, she would be able to explain better than I would." Rowen replied.  
  
"Man, I can't believe this! Would ya listen to yourselves for a minute? You're all totally unbelievable!" Kento said as he got up and started for the stairs.  
  
"Hey Kento where are ya going?" Cye asked as Kento was half way up.   
  
Kento stopped and looked back down. "I'm just going to go and check on her." Kento replied as he started back up the stairs and towards Kaye's room.  
  
Inside of Kaye's room, "Was that person on the phone really my mother? It couldn't have been, she's dead! I saw her die!" Kaye thought as she had tears flowing from her eyes.  
  
A knock at the door made Kaye suddenly look up. "Who is it?" Kaye asked quietly.  
  
"Kaye, it's Kento. Is it ok for me to come in?" Kento asked as he peaked his head inside.  
  
"Ah yea, come on in Kento." Kaye replied as she was trying to dry her eyes.  
  
He open the door further, and walked over to where Kaye was sitting. "Hey, are you alright?" Kento asked as he sat next to her.  
  
She didn't respond to his question, she just sat there quietly. "Nice one, of course she's not alright. Couldn't you think up a better question to ask?" Kento thought as he realized what he just said.  
  
She looked over at Kento's face and knew that he was having trouble thinking of something to say that would make her feel a little better. She put her hands on top of his and gave him a small smile. He then looked over towards her and returned a smile of his own, and then his face became serious.   
  
"Hey what's with the serious attitude all of the sudden?" Kaye asked curiously.  
  
"Kaye, now don't get mad at Mia." Kento began to say as he was getting a little nervous.  
  
"Kento, why would I get mad at Mia?" Kaye asked in confusion.  
  
"She told us that you..." Kento continued.  
  
"That I what? Kento just spit it out already." Kaye replied as she was starting to get a little annoyed.  
  
"Mia told us that you don't remember your family." Kento said quickly.   
  
"Oh." Kaye said quietly as she got up from her bed and walked slowly over to a window.  
  
"What happened that made you forget your family?" Kento asked as he walked up next to her.  
  
"Oyasumi (Good night), Kento." Kaye replied as she was trying to fight back her tears.  
  
"But Kaye, why won't you tell me. Maybe I can help you remember." Kento said as he laid his hand onto her shoulder and gave a look of concern.  
  
"Maybe I don't want to remember, did you even think of that? How would you feel if you couldn't remember anything about your family? Where you came from, and then suddenly have someone call you out of the blue and say that she's your mother? As of now, this conversation is closed! Oyasumi (Good night)." Kaye replied as her gaze never left the window.   
  
Kento knew there was no way that he was going to get any answers out of her this way. So he decided to leave her alone, for now. Just before he shut the door, Kento peeked his head in one more time. "Kaye, if you ever want to talk." Kento said as he looked over to her.  
  
"Arigato (Thank you) Kento, I'll keep that in mind." Kaye replied quietly.  
  
Kento nodded and then closed the door, leaving Kaye alone in her room, battling with the storm that was raging inside of her.  
  
In the livingroom, "All this time, and we never knew." Rowen said quietly as he stared into the fire.  
  
"In some ways, I guess that we all carry scars of some kind on our souls." Kento said as he came down the stairs and joined the others.   
  
"Where did that come from?" Sage thought as he looked over at him with concern for his friend.  
  
"How did it go Kento?" Cye asked in concern.  
  
He told everyone about the conversation that took place between them. They couldn't believe that not even he could get any answers.  
  
"Kento are you sure that you still want to go ahead with tomorrow's plans?" Mia asked as she got up and collected the mugs.  
  
"Yea I'm sure Mia, this could be a good distraction from what happened tonight." Kento replied as he got up from the couch.   
  
Elsewhere, "Imita, what possessed you to get in contact with Karasu (Raven)?" asked a very angry man.  
  
"Karasu (Raven) is my daughter! I have every right to contact her! I don't need permission from anyone, especially from you, Taka (Falcon)!" Imita replied angrily.  
  
"Remember to whom you are talking to, it was I who saved your worthless life and spared your daughter." Taka (Falcon) said as he glared dangerously at her.  
  
"Yes my lord I remember, and I'll always be greatful for that." Imita replied humbly as she lowered her head.  
  
Taka (Falcon) reached out with his hand and took hold of Imita's face, and lifted it up so that their eyes would meet. "Would you care to show me how greatful you really are, Imita?" Taka (Falcon) asked with an evil mischief look in his eyes.  
  
Imita immediately became angry and slapped Taka (Falcon) across the face. He quickly raised his hand and felt where she struck him. He grinned, "Such spirit, this makes me glad that I did save your worthless life. No wonder you're my favorite assassin, I wonder if your daughter has the same potential as her mother." Taka (Falcon) mused with an evil grin.   
  
"you wouldn't dare! If you even think of touching her, I'll kill you myself!" Imita said with fire burning in her eyes.  
  
"Now, now Imita, you of all people should know that an assassin's heart is void of all and any types of emotions. All there is in the assassin's life is to kill or to be killed. It would be good for you to remember that. Besides, judging by the phone conversation between you and your daughter, she doesn't even remember who you are, who she really is, and where she comes from. So it'll be up to you in order to remind her. But know this Imita, if you fail in your task, then it'll be my turn to do the reminding. Do I make myself clear?" Taka (Falcon) asked as he gave her an evil grin.  
  
"Yes my lord." Imita replied humbly. 


	2. chapter 2

(english translations)  
  
"There's no way that woman that was on the phone my mother. She's dead and gone, no and's if's, or but's about it. I saw her die, I know I did." Kaye thought as she was looking out the livingroom window.   
  
Kaye didn't notice that someone else entered the room. 'konnichiwa (hi) Kaye.' Lightning said as he saw her over at the window.  
  
Lightning got no response, so he decided to try again. 'Kaye I said, konnichiwa (hi)." Lightning greeted a second time.  
  
'konnichiwa (hi) Lightning. Sorry about that, I didn't mean to be rude.' Kaye replied apologetically as she turned away from the window and faced the tiger.  
  
'No need to apologize. Kaye I know that something is wrong, so why don't you talk to me since you won't talk with Kento or the others. I can help you, but only if you let me.' Lightning said with concern.  
  
Kaye waited for a few minutes before answering. 'Lightning, I don't know what you're talking about. Nothing's wrong, I'm fine.' Kaye replied.  
  
'Come on Kaye, who are you trying to kid here? You're definately not fooling me, and you're for sure not fooling them, so talk.' Lightning said as the tiger looked her in the eyes.  
  
"Kaye there you are, I've been looking for you." Mia replied as she came into the livingroom.  
  
"Thank you." Kaye thought as she walked away from Lightning and over to Mia.  
  
'Don't think that we're done with this conversation Kaye.' Lightning said as he looked towards them.  
  
Kaye gave lightning a quick look and then turned her attention towards Mia. "What was all of that about?" Mia asked as she watched Lightning leave the room.  
  
"Nothing. So Mia what's up?" Kaye asked as she quickly changed the subject.  
  
"I have something to show you, come on!" Mia said as she grabbed for Kaye's hand and pulled her up the stairs.  
  
"Mia, slow down would ya. Whatever you have to show me, I don't think that it's going to get up and walk away." Kaye said as she was trying not to trip on the stairs.   
  
"Sorry about that Kaye, but this is something that can't wait. Besides if we don't hurry up we're going to be late." Mia replied as she opened up the door.  
  
"Late? Late for what? Mia, you're not making any sense, and another thing where are the guys?" Kaye asked as she watch Mia race around her room.  
  
"Where are they, I told Rowen to put them on the bed." Mia replied as she was throwing things around.  
  
"Mia are these what you're looking for?" Kaye asked as she was holding up two boxes.  
  
"Yea, they are thanks Kaye. One box is yours though. Come on open it already, I want to see your reaction when you see what's inside." Mia said as she waited for Kaye to open her box.  
  
Kaye looked at Mia like she has lost her mind, she shook her head and opened the box. Kaye's eyes went wide with shock, inside of the box was the most beautiful dresses that she has ever seen. It was a black ankle length cheongsam, with a long slit on the left side that has etchings of silver tigers as well as silver dragons. "Mia, where did you get this?" Kaye asked as she took the dress out of the box.  
  
"Hurry up and put it on, we don't want to keep the guys waiting. You know how impatient they can get." Mia replied as she was changing into hers.  
  
"Mia would you please tell me what's going on around here?" Kaye asked as she finally changed into the dress.  
  
"Sorry, but the guys made me promise that I wouldn't tell you." Mia replied as she finished changing.  
  
"Mia, hold on a sec would ya? This whole deal, does it have to do with what happened last night? Please Mia, I have to know." Kaye asked as she looked over at her best friend.  
  
"Well kind of, but not entirely. You see, Kento had this planned for a couple of weeks now, but I'm sure that they'll understand if you want to cancel. I can give them a quick call." Mia explained as she took her cell phone and started to dial.  
  
"No Mia, please wait it's not necessary. You don't have to call them. I wouldn't want to disappoint the guys by not coming, especially since Kento took a long time to plan this." Kaye replied as she stopped Mia from dialing.  
  
Mia grinned and put away her cell phone. "Well then let's get going. If we make the guys wait any longer, they'll probably send a search party looking for us." Mia said with a grin as she started towards the main floor.  
  
"Yea you're probably right. But you still didn't tell me where we're going." Kaye replied as she followed Mia.  
  
"Where did Cye put it." Mia said as she was now looking around in the livingroom.  
  
"Mia, now what are you looking for?" Kaye asked as she entered.  
  
"Here it is, alright Kaye you wanted to know where were going, then take this and hold onto it until we get there." Mia said as she grabbed for her keys and headed towards the door.  
  
"Mia! Hey wait up!" Kaye yelled as she finally caught up with her.  
  
"Be careful Kaye, I sense something that is very dangerous coming." Lightning thought as he watched Mia and Kaye drive off.  
  
Meanwhile at Kento's family restaurant. "I don't believe my eyes, I think that I must be dreaming." Ryo said in amazement.  
  
"Ryo what are you talking about?" Sage asked in confusion.  
  
"Over there." Ryo replied as he motioned over to the window. Sage looked over to where Ryo was pointing and he couldn't believe what he was seeing either. Over by the window, Kento was pacing back and forth as if he was waiting for someone.  
  
"Come on what could be taking them so long?" Kento said as he looked at his watch.  
  
"Hey Kento, what's the deal?" Rowen asked as he noticed that Kento seemed worried about something.  
  
"Huh, Rowen? Sorry man, I guess that I'm getting a little nervous. Mia and Kaye aren't here yet, I'm beginning to wonder if something happened." Kento explained.  
  
"Relax already, I'm sure they're on there way here." Sage said as he tried to reassure him.  
  
"Yea you're probably right Sage, ok I'm relaxed now, see." Kento replied with a small smile.   
  
"Hey Kento when is your girlfriend going to be here?" Yun asked.  
  
"Maybe she isn't coming, or maybe Kento made her up just so mama would close the restaurant." Mei Ryu teased.  
  
"That's enough Mei Ryu! Kento doesn't need that from you, can't you see that he's nervous enough as it is. Now go into the kitchen and see if mama and Cye need any help in there." Rinfi said as she slapped the back of Mei Ryu's head.  
  
Kento gave a thankful grin towards his sister, she nodded and walked over to the table so she could finish setting up.  
  
Just then a vehicle pulled up into the parking lot. "They're here!" Kento exclaimed as he ran out to greet them. The guys shook their heads and followed him outside.  
  
"Well we're here, and it looks like we have a welcoming committee." Mia said as she and Kaye got out of the jeep.  
  
"Mind telling me what took ya so long?" Kento asked as he got to the jeep in record time.  
  
"Sorry that we're late Kento, but if someone put the items where they should have been, then we would have been here sooner." Mia replied as she threw a glance at Rowen.  
  
"It doesn't matter, you're here now so let's go inside. There are some people that I want you to meet." Kento said as he guided Kaye towards the restaurant.  
  
"Hey everybody, they're here!" Kento yelled as they came inside.  
  
"Kento you don't have to yell, we heard Mia's jeep pull up a few seconds ago. Ah hello, you must be Kaye, Kento has told us so much about you. Welcome to the Fuan family restaurant." mama Fuan said as she greeted Kaye.  
  
"See, I told you that Kento wasn't making her up. Now pay up." Chun Fa whispered to Mei Ryu.   
  
"You two actually made a bet that I was making up the fact that I have a girlfriend?" Kento asked as he blushed a little bit.   
  
"Yea, but at least I believed ya when you told us." Chun Fa said as she gave him a big grin.   
Kaye couldn't help but laugh. "Sorry about that Kento, but it is kind of funny once you think about it." Kaye said as she tried to stop. The others looked at each other and then they started to laugh as well.  
  
"It's alright, now Kaye I would like to introduce to you mama Fuan, my pop Chan Faun, my sisters Rinfi, Chun Fa, my brothers Yun, Mei Ryu, and my grandpa." Kento said as he introduced his family.  
  
"It's an honor to meet all of you. Thanks for the invitation to your beautiful restaurant, and this is for all of you." Kaye replied as she handed over the gift to mama Fuan.  
  
"Thank you very much. Rinfi, take this and place it on the counter." mama Fuan said as she handed the gift to Rinfi.  
  
"Yes mama." Rinfi replied as she placed it on the counter and rejoined them.  
  
"Kaye you look, wow!" Kento said as she was taking off her coat.  
  
"Thanks Kento." Kaye replied as she blushed while she hung up her coat on the rack.  
  
"Kaye mind if I ask you a couple of questions." Mei Ryu said as a glint of mischief shown in his eyes.  
  
"Mei Ryu, what are you up to?" Kento asked curiously.  
  
"What makes you think that I'm up to anything big brother?" Mei Ryu asked innocently.  
  
"It's ok Kento, no I don't mind, go ahead Mei Ryu, what did you want to know?" Kaye asked as she looked at him.  
  
"Ok here goes, Kaye is my big brother a good kisser, and when do you two plan to get married?" Mei Ryu asked as he gave a really big smirk.  
  
Kento and Kaye looked at each other and turned redder than Ryo's armor. "Mei Ryu, you better start running, because if I catch you, you are so going to get it." Kento said as he gave a warning look towards his little brother.  
  
"Yipes! Bye." Mei Ryu said as he ran upstairs.   
  
Just as Mei Ryu ran up the stairs, everyone else busted out laughing. While the people inside were laughing and having a good time, someone else was watching them from the outside. "Karasu (Raven), soon we'll be together again my daughter, and then no one, not Taka (Falcon), or anyone else will be able to separate us ever again." Imita said under her breath as she kept her eyes on Kaye.  
  
"Imita, it's almost time. Are you ready?" Taka (Falcon) asked as he appeared beside her.  
  
"Yes my lord, I'm ready. When they are about to leave, then that will be the time that I'll strike. You don't have to worry, I know what I have to do." Imita replied as she bowed to him.  
  
"Oh I'm not worried Imita, I know that you won't fail me." Taka (Falcon) said as he disappeared.  
  
Back inside, everyone just got done eating a great feast that was prepared by mama Fuan and Cye. "That was definately one of the best meals that I've had in a long time." Kento said as he leaned back in his chair.  
  
"Kento! What have I told you about leaning back in the chair? One of these days you're going to fall backwards and land on the floor. Now sit up!" mama Fuan said as she scolded her son.   
  
"Yes mama." Kento replied as he sat back up.  
  
"Kaye it looks like you're going to have your work cut out for ya. Are you sure that you still want to be with him?" Cye asked mischievously.  
  
"I agree with Cye, it's going to be a full-time job taking care of Kento." Rowen said as he grinned.  
  
"Hey!" Kento replied as he looked at both of them.  
  
Kaye started to giggle, "I don't think it's going to be that hard, besides if things get too complicated, I can always ask mama Fuan for help." Kaye said as she gave a wink.  
  
"Kaye, I have a question for you, that is if you don't mind me asking." mama Fuan said as she looked over to her.  
  
Kaye shook her head, showing that she had no objection and then gave mama Fuan her full attention. "Kento told us about a particular phone call that you got last night that really upsetted you. I was wondering if you would talk about it?" mama Fuan asked as she looked over at Kaye with concern.  
  
The room suddenly became quiet. Kaye looked down to avoid any eye contact with anyone. She was gripping her hands so tight, that her knuckles were turning white. Tears were threatening to fall, but she wouldn't let them. Then Kaye took a few deep breaths so she would calm herself. "I guess there's no point in avoiding this any more. I knew that I would have to talk about this sooner or later. I'll tell you what I remember, but that's all I can do." Kaye replied quietly as she prepared herself.   
  
Kento laid his hand gently onto Kaye's shoulder. "Kaye you don't have to talk about it if you don't want to, there's no pressure." Kento said quietly.  
  
Kaye slowly raised her head and looked at him with eyes that showed a mixture of emotions ranging from sadness, to frustration, and finally anger. But the anger wasn't towards Kento for telling his family about what happened last night. The anger was towards the fact that she was helpless to save her mother. Kaye then looked around, she saw that everyone had their attention fully onto her as she began to tell her story.  
  
"It happened when I was very young. This was just before Mia and I became friends, and just as I found out that I'm a dream walker. Anyway, it was during a really bad snow storm, like the one that we had last night. Out of nowhere we were attacked. It seemed like these people were born to be killers, they had no regard for anyone's life. If someone got in their way, they would just slash them and move on. People were screaming and running as they were trying to get away from the invaders. At the time, I barely understood what was happening. I was wondering why, why would they just come here and kill people for no reason. As I was running from building to building trying to find my family, someone attacked me from behind, and I fell down to the ground. The person thought that I was dead and left me. A few minutes passed by, and I was coming to. Slowly I got up from the ground, and continued to look for my family. I couldn't find anyone, then just as I turned the corner I saw my mother. She was fighting against the one who attacked me. I started to run towards her, but just before I got there, the person that attacked me stabbed her, and she was dead." Kaye explained as she again lowered her head and closed her eyes.  
  
"Kaye, you don't have to say any more if you don't want to." Mia said quietly.  
  
Kaye shook her head no, and then waited a few minutes before continuing. "I stopped dead in my tracks, staring at my mother's corpse. Fear suddenly took hold of my entire body, and I couldn't move. The killer took his sword out of my mother's corpse, and then looked at me and smiled. He started to come at me, I finally snapped out of it and I wanted to run. But before I could take a few steps, I heard something behind me starting to break, and then I fell through the boards. The killer thought that I was good as dead, so he decided to just leave me there. A few hours passed, and a small group of travelers came by. They were just about to leave until I finally decided to yell out for help. They ran over to where I fell in and pulled me out. They tried to get me to tell them what happened, but I couldn't. So they decided to take me into their group and raise me themselves. I only stayed with them for about a year, and then I started to travel on my own. Then I met Mia, and we became very close friends. Then a couple years later, I met up with Mia again, and then she introduced me to the guys. That's all I remember, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to ruin everyone's good time. I think that I better go." Kaye said as she began to slowly get up from her chair. 


	3. chapter 3

(english translations)  
  
"Kaye, wait! Where are you going?" Kento asked as he quickly grabbed onto her arm.  
  
"I'm going out for some air. Now would you please let go of my arm Kento before I make you eat the floor." Kaye said as she looked up into his eyes.  
  
Kento reluctantly released her arm, and let Kaye grab her coat and head out the door. "If you know what's good for you my son, then you will go after her this instant!" mama Fuan said as she glared at him.  
  
"Yes mam! You don't have to tell me twice!" Kento replied as he grabbed his coat and ran towards the door.  
  
"I think that we better go too. Kaye's pretty good about hiding when she doesn't want to be found. Come on guys, let's go." Ryo said as he got up from the table and headed towards the door.  
  
"We're coming too." Mei Ryu said as he grabbed his coat.  
  
"No Mei Ryu, you, your brother and sisters will stay here with me, your mom, and grandpa while they go and look for her." Chan Fuan said as he looked at Mei Ryu.  
  
"But dad?" Mei Ryu said.  
  
"But nothing, we're wasting time arguing. Besides Kaye might come back here on her own, and someone should be here in case she does." Chan Fuan replied sternly.  
  
"Yes dad." Mei Ryu said as he hung up his coat.  
  
"Thanks pop, we'll be back before you know it." Kento said as he and the others ran out the door to look for Kaye.  
  
Outside, "I can't believe that I made a total fool out of myself in there. What was he thinking when he talked with his family about what happened last night? He had no right! No, no he had every right, he's just concerned like everybody else. It's my fault for not telling them sooner about my past." Kaye thought as she stopped and looked over at the bridge that was on the other side of the street.  
  
After a few minutes, Kaye finally decided to cross the street and walk to the center of the bridge, where she stopped again and leaned over the side. "Karasu (Raven), Karasu (Raven) where are you? Karasu (Raven)! Answer me!" an eerie voice called from the shadows.  
  
Kaye quickly got into defensive position and began to look around her surroundings. "Who are you? Why do you keep calling me Karasu (Raven)? Come out so I can see you, or are you a coward?" Kaye said angrily.  
  
"Fine, if that's the way it's going to be." the voice replied as a woman in a long hooded cape came out of the shadows.  
  
"Now that we're face to face, tell me who are you, and why do you keep calling me Karasu (Raven)?" Kaye asked as she glared at the woman.  
  
The woman reached up with both of her hands and slowly pulled down her hood from her face. She looked straight at Kaye, and then she started to approach Kaye. "Alright, stop right there, that's close enough." Kaye warned the woman. She stopped walking and kept her eyes on Kaye the whole time.  
  
"You wanted to know who I am, as well as the reason I keep calling you Karasu (Raven), is because I'm your mother." Imita replied.  
  
"No it can't be true, you're not my mother! My mother is dead, I saw her die!" Kaye replied in disbelief.  
  
"Can't you tell that it's me with your own eyes? I'm here, and alive. I want you to come with me." Imita said as she began to approach Kaye again.  
  
"No, stay back! You're not her, I won't believe you. There's nothing that you can say or do to persuade me otherwise." Kaye replied as she began to back away.  
  
Not too far away, Kento and the others were closing in on Kaye's and Imita's location. "Kaye, where are you? Answer me!" Kento yelled out into the streets.  
  
No response, then all of a sudden Sage stopped dead in his tracks. The others stopped and looked back at him. "Sage what's the deal? Why did you stop?" Cye asked.  
  
"I'm feeling a powerful force." Sage replied as he was looking around trying to get a fix.  
  
"Where is it coming from?" Rowen asked.  
  
"Over there." Sage replied as he took off in the direction of where it was coming from.  
  
"Do you think that we'll find Kaye if we keep going in this direction?" Mia asked as she ran beside Ryo.  
  
"I hope so Mia." Ryo replied as they continued running. Just as they rounded the next corner, they saw Kaye carefully backing away from the woman.  
  
"I'm warning you! Stay away from me!" Kaye said angrily as she kept her eyes on Imita.  
  
"Kaye!" Kento yelled.  
  
For a split second, Kaye quickly turned her head and saw that Kento and the others were running towards her. That split second is all that Imita needed in order to make her move. "Kaye, watch your back!" Rowen warned her as he saw Imita taking to the air and landing closer with her weapons ready.  
  
Kaye quickly turned her head in Imita's direction, but Rowen's warning came a little too late. Because Imita already had a hold of Kaye with one of the katanas at her throat. "Stay back Ronins if you know what's good for ya." Imita warned coldly as she glared at them coldly.  
  
"Let her go!" Ryo yelled angrily.  
  
"Great, just great I had to leave my kanji orb back home. What was I thinking?" Kaye wondered as she was trying to figure a way out of this situation while still keeping her head.  
  
"Who are you, and what do you think that you're doing with our friend?" Cye asked as they circled Kaye and Imita.  
  
"My name is Imita, I'm Karasu's (Raven's) mother, I'm taking her back with me! Now back off! This is going to be your first and only warning!" Imita replied as she drew the katana closer to Kaye's throat.  
  
Kaye let out a gasp as the blade came closer. "Sorry, but I don't think so lady. You see, Kaye is our friend, and we're not going to let you take her anywhere." Rowen replied as he glared at her.  
  
"Your friends think that they actually can stop me from taking you back, Karasu (Raven)." Imita said.  
  
"You won't get away, and they'll make sure of that!" Kaye replied angrily.  
  
"There's no way that you could be Kaye's mother. Kaye told us that she saw her killed right in front of her a long time ago." Sage said as he was looking for an opening.  
  
"Karasu (Raven), how could you say such a thing?" Imita asked as she drew her katana back a little more, causing a small cut on Kaye's neck.  
  
"Because it's true, my mother is dead! Why can't you get that through your thick head?" Kaye said angrily. Imita slowly took the katana off of Kaye's neck. Then she turned around and stared at Kaye straight into her eyes. Imita's eyes flared with pure anger, and then became a void, free of any emotions. At that moment she became cold, and unforgiving. Kaye stumbled back, keeping her eyes on Imita.  
  
"Go to your friends for now. I'll be back for you, and you can count on that! Don't think that this is over, it's far from over Karasu (Raven)!" Imita said as she disappeared.   
  
"Kaye, Kaye are you alright?" Kento asked as he helped her up.  
  
She gave no response, Kaye just kept on staring in disbelief at the spot where Imita was standing. Then she brought her hand up to the area of her neck where Imita cut her with the katana. When she took her hand away, there was blood smeared on the palm of her hand.  
  
"Sage!" Ryo said. Sage nodded and transformed into his armor, quickly he healed Kaye's wound and then called it back.  
  
"My mother, my mother is alive? If what she was saying is true, then why hasn't she, why hasn't she try to find me before?" Kaye whispered in disbelief.  
  
"Kaye that woman couldn't possibly be your mother. A real mother wouldn't pull something like that." Mia said sternly.  
  
"But she looked like her, she sounded like her, she acted like her. Everything was exactly like the way that my mother would be." Kaye replied in confusion.  
  
"No Kaye, that woman wasn't your mother, end of story. That woman was nothing more than an ansatsusha (asassin)." Ryo said in anger.  
  
"If she was an ansatsusha (asassin), then why didn't she kill me when she had the chance? Explain that one to me." Kaye replied angrily as she turned and faced Ryo.  
  
"Trust me Kaye, she's an ansatsusha (asassin). Imita was wearing the markings of someone from an ansatsusha's (asassin's) guild." Ryo said sternly.  
  
"How would you know Ryo?" Kaye shot back.  
  
"I just know! Now come on, let's go back to the restaurant, and let Kento's family know that we found you, and that you're alright." Ryo replied as he lead the others back.  
  
Kento noticed that Kaye wasn't with them. He looked back and saw that she was still standing in the same place that he helped her up from. So he turned around and went back for her. When he got there, he found that Kaye was trying so hard not to cry. But it couldn't be helped, with everything hitting her so hard and so fast, that she finally let it all out. Kaye saw his shadow and turned around to face him with tears streaming down her face.  
  
"Come here, come here Kaye it'll be alright." Kento said as he brought her into his embrace.   
  
"Kento, I'm sorry that I ruined all of your planning. I know that it took you a long time to get this put together, and here I go and ruin the whole thing." Kaye said as she was trying to stop crying.  
  
"Hey what are you talking about? You didn't ruin anything. Everything went just fine, this whole thing was only so my family could finally meet ya. I know that I should of introduced you sooner, but I thought that this would be a better way of going about it. Besides I know for fact that my family likes you. So there's nothing to worry about, ok. Now what do you say that we dry these tears and go back to the restaurant." Kento said as he wiped away her tears.   
  
Kaye gave him a nod and a smile. He smiled and then they started on their way back. They were half way there by the time that they met up with the rest of them. They just got to the front door, when Kaye pulled onto Ryo's arm. "Ryo, I'm sorry, I didn't mean..." Kaye began to say.  
  
Ryo turned around, "It's alright Kaye, no damage done. Now what do you say? Let's go inside and fill the Fuans in on what happened ok." Ryo replied with a smile.  
  
"Sure Ryo, but I don't think that they have to know everything, do they?" Kaye asked.  
  
"No they don't need to know everything. So are we going to go inside, or do you want to turn into a frozen icecile?" Ryo asked with a smile.  
  
Kaye shook her head, and followed Ryo inside. "Kaye, I'm glad that they found you. Are you alright?" mama Fuan asked as she ran up to her.  
  
"Yea mama Fuan, I'm alright, everything is ok." Kaye replied as she smiled at her.  
  
"Kaye, you're back!" Mei Ryu said in excitement as he tackled her into the couch.  
  
"We were worried about you." Yun said as he also tackled Kaye, who was already on the couch.  
  
"Mei Ryu, Yun! Get off of her right this instant! I know that you're excited that she's back, but that's no way to greet someone. Now off!" Rinfi said as she and Chun Fa stood there with their hands crossed over their chests, and tapping their feet to show annoyance.  
  
"Alright, alright we're getting off." Yun said as he and Mei Ryu got off of Kaye.  
  
"It's ok Rinfi, they didn't hurt me if that's what you were worried about." Kaye said as she gave the them a smile.  
  
"Who said that we were worried about them hurting you?" Rinfi asked mischievously.  
  
"Oh, then why were you worried?" Kaye asked.  
  
"It's like what my sister said, we weren't worried about them hurting you. It's the fact that we were going to do that first, but they beat us to it." Chun Fa replied with a mischievous grin. 


	4. chapter 4

(english translations)  
  
The next day, "Imita, you had Karasu (Raven), so why did you let her go?" Taka (Falcon) asked angrily.  
  
"Relax my lord, I have everything in hand. It's all coming together, we just have to be patient. When the time is right, we won't have to bring Karasu (Raven) here, she'll come to us." Imita replied with an evil smile.  
  
"What do you mean that she'll come to us?" Taka (Falcon) asked as he raised an eyebrow at her.  
  
"You see, my lord, I made them believe that I disappeared, but I was still there listening to them." Imita replied.  
  
"Care to tell me what they were talking about, Imita?" Taka (Falcon) asked.  
  
"It seem like that Karasu (Raven) and the one that she called Kento have feelings towards each other. I'm thinking that could be used as an advantage for us, my lord." Imita replied with an evil grin.  
  
"I can tell that you have something up your sleeve. You always have that glint of danger in your eyes. So, Imita, are you going to tell me what you have planned, or am I going to have to guess?" Taka (Falcon) asked as he showed that he was very interested.  
  
"All in due time, my lord, please be patient. Everything will work out according to plan." Imita replied as she bowed and left his chambers.  
  
"It had better be, my assassin, it had better be." Taka (Falcon) said to himself.  
  
"Taka (Falcon), how are things progressing? Is everything going as planned?" a voice from the shadows asked.  
  
"Ah dark entity, what do I owe the honor of your visit?" Taka (Falcon) asked as he turned around and faced the shadows.  
  
"Enough of the pleasantries, Taka (Falcon), I came for a progress report." the dark entity hissed.  
  
"Of course, everything is going as planned. Karasu (Raven) shall soon be here, and then my dark one, then the time for the ascension of the assassin shall begin once again." Taka (Falcon) replied with an evil grin.  
  
"Good, now see to it that Imita doesn't fail. Because Taka (Falcon), you'll know what will happen if she does." the dark entity warned as it began to disappear into the darkness.  
  
Taka (Falcon) watched as the dark entity disappeared, "I still don't fully understand why the dark entity wants Karasu (Raven). Have they met before? If so, then is it for some kind of revenge? Whatever the reason, it's not really of my concern.." Taka (Falcon) thought as he walked to the main chamber.   
  
Meanwhile...  
  
Kaye was standing on the balcony reflecting on what happened yesterday. "Was that really my mother? It had to be, everything was the same about her before she died. But this time, she seemed different somehow. If she's from the assassin's guild like Ryo said, then why didn't she just kill me and get it over with instead of trying to make me go with her?" Kaye thought as she brushed her hand against the phantom scar that was there from Imita's katana.She stood out there for a few minutes longer, and then went back inside. Kaye shut the balcony door, walked over to the closet and put her coat away. She began to look to see if anyone was around, and she couldn't see anybody. Kaye was just about to walk into the kitchen, until she heard voices. Kaye stopped and leaned against the wall so she could hear what they were saying.  
  
"If this Imita woman claims to be Kaye's real mother, then why would she take her by force instead of just talking face to face." Kento asked quietly.  
  
"I don't know, Kento. Maybe she thought that Kaye wouldn't go willingly, since she saw her mother killed right before her eyes." Cye replied as he looked at his best friend in concern.  
  
"Whatever the reason, I'm not going to let her take Kaye away from me. You know how important she is to me, Cye." Kento said.  
  
"I know, Kento, I know. We'll figure something out, and if she tries again, then we'll give her a fight that she'll never forget." Cye replied as he punched Kento on his arm. Kento gave Cye a small smile and then looked back down at the table. Cye couldn't remember the last time that he saw Kento this sad before. Usually when something major happens, it was Kento that tried to lighten up everyone's mood. Just then Ryo walked into the living room and saw that Kaye was leaning against the wall deep in thought. He already knew that Kento and Cye were in the kitchen talking, since he saw them in there earlier. So he quietly walked over to Kaye, and tapped her on the shoulder.   
  
"Ryo..." Kaye said quietly as she looked over at him. Ryo made a quick shushing motion, and then he directed her attention to the couch where they could talk. Kaye nodded her head and followed him. They sat down, and a few minutes passed before either of them spoke.  
  
"Kaye, it's time that you talked with someone about what's been happening since the phone call." Ryo said as he tried to break the ice.  
  
"And here I thought that I was the blunt one." Kaye replied with a small smirk.  
  
"Funny, now are you going to talk to me or what?" Ryo asked.  
  
"Alright, Ryo, you wanna know what I've been thinking, then here it is. I'm so confused, I don't know what to think, I don't know how I'm suppose to feel. I don't even know how I'm suppose to act any more. I feel like I'm lost, and there's no possible way that I can get back to the way things use to be." Kaye replied as she quickly stood up from the couch and walked over to a small window and looked outside.  
  
"Way to go, get her even more upset than she already is." Ryo thought sarcastically.  
  
"If she planned to fake her death, then why did she wait until I was there? Did she want me to witness it? Why, why can't anyone tell me why she did that to me? What did I do to her that could have been so bad? Did I shame her somehow? What did I do, tell me what I did that was so wrong, tell me!" Kaye yelled as she punched her right hand through the small window.  
  
"Kaye!" Ryo yelled as he quickly got up from the couch, ran over to her and pulled her right arm from the small window. Everyone in the mansion quickly ran into the living room to see what the commotion was about.  
  
"Ryo, what happened?" Sage asked as he looked at the two in confusion.  
  
"We were talking, and then she decided to punch her fist right through the window." Ryo explained as he held Kaye's right arm.  
  
"Kaye, are you crazy? What were you thinking?" Rowen asked as he was looking around for some kind of towel.  
  
"Guys, mind if we do the Q and A later? We need to see how badly she hurt herself. Come over here, Kaye, and sit down so I can take a look at your arm." Mia said as she directed Kaye to the kitchen table. The others followed them and sat down.  
  
"Kaye, I thought that since you and I had a similar family background that maybe I would be..." Ryo said as he looked over at her with sympathetic eyes.  
  
"That you would be what, Ryo, the best one out of everyone else to talk with me about this? Is that what you were going to say?" Kaye shot back.  
  
"Come on, Kaye, you know that Ryo's just trying to help. So why don't you let him?" Sage asked as he looked at her in concern.  
  
"Alright, Sage, you say that Ryo is trying to help me. Then answer me this, in your honest opinion, do you think that he's trying to help me out of sympathy, or out of pity?" Kaye asked as she stared angrily into his eyes.  
  
"What! Kaye, you can't be serious. I've never seen you act like this. What made you suddenly act this way?" Sage asked as he was taken back by her question.  
  
"It's like I told Ryo just before I smashed my arm through that window. I don't know what's what any more. I don't know what to think, what to feel, or even how to act ever since that bloody phone call. Ouch, Mia, that hurt." Kaye said as she looked at her while Mia took out the last piece of glass.  
  
"Sorry, Kaye, but I think that Ryo and Sage are right." Mia said as she washed her hands in the sink.  
  
"I don't believe this, does everyone think that I've flipped or something? Kento?" Kaye asked as she looked at each of them for an answer. Each one looked down at the table as she looked at them.  
  
"Fine, if that's how all of you feel, then I'm gone!" Kaye said angrily as she got up from her chair and grabbed some bandages to wrap her arm and hand with.  
  
"Kaye, where are you going?!" Rowen asked as she was about to leave.  
  
"I'm going to town, I need some time alone, and Mia, I'll find a replacement for the window while I'm in town. I'll see all of you later." Kaye replied as she finished bandaging her arm and hand.  
  
"Wait, Kaye! Don't go, come back!" Kento said as he tried to call her back into the mansion. But unfortunately Kento wasn't fast enough because Kaye was already in her car and heading to town.  
  
Driving around for about half an hour, Kaye found herself near the Faun's family restaurant. She was going to drive right past it, but for some reason she decided to park right out front. Just as soon as she parked, mama Fuan came outside.She walked over to Kaye's car and looked inside. Her heart went out to the girl as she saw tears flowing down her face. "Kaye, what's wrong? Come   
inside." Mama Fuan said as she coaxed Kaye out of her car and into the restaurant. Mama Fuan gestured Kaye to take a seat and then sat down.   
  
"Thank you for inviting me inside Mama Fuan." Kaye said quietly.  
  
"You're welcome, child, but tell me. Why are you crying? Did you and my son have a fight?" Mama Fuan asked as she looked at Kaye with concern.  
  
"No not quite, it wasn't Kento that got me upset." Kaye replied as she wiped the tears from her face.  
  
"Then what child, please tell me everything?" Mama Fuan said. For some reason Kaye felt somehow that she could tell her everything, from the phone call to what happened a few minutes ago.  
  
"And that's everything, so what do you think? Am I crazy, am I losing my mind? I know that I should go back and apologize to them. They didn't deserve all of the yelling that they got from me. It wasn't right." Kaye said as she leaned back into her chair.  
  
"No, Kaye, you're not crazy, and you're not losing your mind. You're feeling exactly what you're suppose to feel. Considering the circumstances. Actually, they did deserve some of the yelling, maybe not all of it, but some. So you were almost completely in the right, but not totally. Do you understand what you have to do now?" Mama Fuan asked as she looked at her and gave a warm smile.  
  
"Yea, I do. Now I know where Kento gets his big heart from. Thanks Mama Fuan, you've helped me out more than you could imagine." Kaye replied as she smiled back.  
  
"Good, so are you going back home then?" Mama Fuan asked as she got up from her chair.  
  
"Yea, but first I have to find a replacement window for Mia, since I broke it when I punched my arm through." Kaye replied as she grabbed her coat and headed for the door.Mama Fuan walked Kaye to her car and then watched her drive off. After looking around town for almost an hour, Kaye found the replacement window and started on her way back to the mansion.   
  
"Man, I am so going to have to eat crow on this one. I just hope that they're still not angry with me. Here goes nothing." Kaye thought as she pulled up into the drive. She turned off her car, and then walked inside. She placed the replacement window down on the counter, and then took off her coat and put it away. Then she took the replacement window and walked into the living room, where she began to fix it. It didn't take long to finish that task, then she decide to try and find everybody and apologize. It didn't take her long to find them either. They were all in the training room doing some sparring.   
  
"Hey, Ryo, watch your left side, you always leave it open." Kaye said as she stood in the doorway. The guys stopped with the sparring and turned around.   
  
"Kaye, you're back!" Kento said excitedly as he ran over to her, picked her up and then let her   
back down, but still keeping her in his arms.  
  
"Are you all right? You had us worried, and for your information, I don't always leave my left side open." Ryo said with a smirk.  
  
"Yea I'm ok, I'm sorry that you all were worried, I want to apologize for the way I've been acting lately. I haven't exactly been myself since, well you know. Besides, I wasn't alone." Kaye replied with a smirk.  
  
"Oh, and who was with you?" Cye asked as he became very curious.  
  
"Believe it or not, I was talking with Mama Fuan about everything, and you could say that she helped me put things into perspective." Kaye replied as she looked up towards Kento with a grin.  
  
"She did? Well I'm not surprised in the least, Mama could always make a person feel better no matter what the circumstances." Kento said as he returned a grin of his own.  
  
"Oh oh, I can see where this is going. Ok you two, don't start getting all lovey-dovey. Come on if you two are going to start that, then get a room. We don't need to see that kind of behavior, especially in here. This is the training room for crying out loud." Ryo said in mock annoyance.  
  
"Aw does Ryo feel left out?" Kaye teased with a mischievous grin.  
  
"What! No, I don't feel left out." Ryo muttered as he was taken back by surprise from Kaye's remark. Realizing that Kaye was back to her old self, he started to laugh, the other guys and Mia looked at each other and then they laughed as well.  
  
"Ok now that we all had a good laugh, let's go back upstairs and find something for supper. I'm starting to get hungry." Kento said as he pull Kaye up the stairs with him.  
  
A few hours later, after everyone had their fill, Kaye walked over to the closet and get her coat. "Kaye, where are ya going?" Rowen asked as he noticed that she was heading to the back door.  
  
"I'm just going out for a walk. Why, did you want to come with me, Rowen?" Kaye said with a smile.  
  
"Thanks, but no thanks, I'm just going to stay here where it's nice and warm." Rowen replied as he settled in his chair next to the fireplace.  
  
"Ok have it your way, does anyone else want to come with me?" Kaye asked as she looked around for volunteers.  
  
"If you'll wait for a few minutes I'll come with ya." Kento said as he got up and went to look for his coat. Kento soon found his coat, and the two of them headed out back. For a few minutes, Kento and Kaye were walking outside in silence, until...   
  
"What the heck was that?" Kaye asked as she and Kento looked around to see where the noise came from.  
  
"I'm not sure, let's go and see." Kento said as he ran in the direction of the noise.  
  
"Do you think that the others heard it too?" Kaye asked as she ran beside him.  
  
"It was loud enough, I'm sure that they did. I don't have a very good feeling about this, we better put on our sub-armor before we get there." Kento said as they both transformed into their sub-armor.  
  
"Hey, Kento, Kaye, what the heck is going on?" Ryo asked as he and the others joined them also in sub-armor.  
  
"Not sure, Ryo, but whatever it was, I'm sure that we'll find out soon enough." Kaye replied as they turned the corner to see that Imita and a few of her soldiers were waiting for them.  
  
"I was wondering what took you so long to get here." Imita said as she gave an evil grin. 


	5. chapter 5

(english translations)  
  
"What are you doing here?" Sage asked as they stopped and got into defensive positions.  
  
"My business here is none of your concern." Imita replied coldly.  
  
"Too bad lady, 'cause we're making it our business. So unless you state why you're here, I suggest that you take your leave." Rowen said as he glared at her.  
  
"Very well, if you're going to be that way about it, then I'll tell you. Karasu (Raven), I deliver to you an ultimatum. Either you come with me willingly, or someone that you care about very much will pay the price." Imita replied as she glared dangerously at Kaye.  
  
"Kaye's not going anywhere with you, so you can just forget it!" Cye said as a hint of anger rose in his voice.  
  
"Karasu (Raven), how can you stay with them, they are not your family, I am. So how can you choose them over me?" Imita asked angrily.  
  
"Easy, they've been right by my side ever since we've met. They've never abandoned me, and they know that I wouldn't abandon them either. Unlike you, you were the one that made me believe that you were dead! You were the one that abandoned me when I needed you! A real mother, if she honestly cared, wouldn't put her own child through what you did to me! As far as I'm concerned, Imita, you will never be my mother! You are, back then as of now, and forever, dead to me!" Kaye replied angrily as she glared at Imita while she was trying hard to hold back her tears. Imita gave Kaye a look of great shock, and then her eyes turned cold and unforgiving.   
  
"Then so be it, it still doesn't matter, you'll still be coming with me one way or the other." Imita replied coldly. The guys couldn't believe what Kaye just said. They were torn between   
feelings of confusion and pride for what she just did. They knew that it wasn't easy for her, then they quickly formed a circle around Kaye and got ready for whatever Imita was going to throw at them. Imita motioned for the soldiers to attack, while she hovered about and watched for her opportunity to strike.  
  
"Man, these tin cans seem to be stronger than the ones that Talpa had back in the Dynasty." Kento said as he blocked an attack.  
  
"No kidding, alright it looks like we are going to have to kick it up. Ronin Warriors, to Arms!" Ryo said as she called for them to armor up. After they transformed into their armors, the battle intensified even more.  
  
"Whoa, these guys are juiced! Where are they getting all of their power from?" Sage asked as he delivered an attack.  
  
"I'm not sure, Sage, but no matter what, we can't stop fighting until they are all gone." Kaye said while she swept out the feet of her opponent and then brought down her bo-staff upon its chest.  
  
"It looks like it's time to put my plan into effect. Now where's my target? Ah there it is." Imita replied as she disappeared.  
  
"Hey, where did Imita go?" Cye asked as he delivered an attack.  
  
"She's over there! Hey, Kento, watch out!" Rowen warned as he spotted Imita behind him.  
  
"What! Whoa! Hey lady watch it with those katanas, you could really hurt someone with those things." Kento said as he barely ducked out of the way.  
  
"That's the idea, you fool!" Imita replied as she attacked Kento fiercely.  
  
"Guys, we have to get to him!" Kaye said as she barely got out of the way of an attack.  
  
"We're trying to, but they're too many of them! Kaye, you're closer than we are, maybe you can get to him, I'll cover ya the best that I can." Rowen said as he shot off a few of his arrows.  
  
"I'm gone!" Kaye replied as she started to run towards the fight between Kento and Imita. Imita noticed that Kaye was getting closer and closer by the minute. Just as she was getting a few feet closer, Imita gave an evil grin.   
  
"What are you grinning about?" Kento asked as he noticed that she has something up her   
  
sleeve.  
  
"Just waiting until she gets a little closer, and then you'll see what I'm grinning about soon enough." Imita replied coldly. It didn't take long for Kento to understand who Imita was talking about.   
  
"Kaye, watch out!" Kento warned.  
  
"Firewall!" Imita called upon as Kaye was close enough to the battle. Kento's warning came too late, for the fact that Imita's firewall was all around her. No matter where she tried to go, the firewall kept on closing in. Kento quickly looked towards Kaye and then back to Imita, anger erupted in his eyes.   
  
"Let her out of there now!" Kento yelled at her.   
  
Imita just stood there laughing, "Who are you to order me around little man? I'm the one that has complete control in this fight. Since Karasu (Raven) refuses to come with me willingly, then I have no other choice. Karasu (Raven), now you'll stand there helpless, while I take the one that means the most to you right before your eyes." Imita said as she glared at Kaye. Imita started to chant some kind of ancient phrase, and just then a thick fog started to form around them. Then in a blink of an eye they were gone, and the firewall disappeared.   
  
"Kento...Kento! No!" Kaye yelled as she fell to her knees. The soldiers disappeared and then the rest of the Ronins ran over to where Kaye was kneeling.  
  
"I don't believe it! He's...he's gone." Cye said in disbelief.  
  
"And it's my fault, it's all my fault. She wouldn't have taken him if I went with her. I could of prevented this from happening, but all I could do was watch." Kaye whispered angrily.  
  
"Kaye, what could you have done? You were in a firewall for crying out loud!" Ryo said as he tried to reason with her.  
  
"Ryo." Cye said as he slowly shook his head.  
  
Meanwhile...  
  
In Taka's (Falcon's) chambers, Imita was waiting for her lords arrival, along with a very annoyed Kento. "If Kaye is hurt in any way, I'll..." Kento warned as he glared at her.  
  
"I wouldn't be worrying about her right at the moment, if I were you, I would be more worried about yourself." Taka (Falcon) said as he walked into his chambers. Imita bowed respectfully as he entered, she then noticed that Kento wasn't bowing,   
  
"You insolent dog! You will give the proper respect, and bow to the lord of the assassins!" Imita said angrily as she then forcefully made him fall onto his knees.  
  
"I bow to no one! I choose who I give my allegiance to, and no one can say otherwise!" Kento said angrily.  
  
"Why you!" Imita replied angrily as she was about to strike Kento across the face. He knew what her intentions were, so he braced himself.  
  
"Imita, that's not called for. He's a guest while he's here with us. So show the proper manners, and let him stand on his own two feet." Taka (Falcon) said as he came closer to them.  
  
"If this is how you treat your guests, then I would hate to see how you treat everyone else." Kento said as he glared at Taka (Falcon). Taka (Falcon) ignored Kento's comment for the moment, and then walked over to his assassin.   
  
"Imita, I'm impressed with what you've planned. Now explain to me how you're going to have your daughter find us, especially since you didn't bother to tell her where we are." Taka (Falcon) said in an angry whisper.  
  
"Don't worry my lord, I wanted to stash him here before I went back and delivered my message. I was just about to leave, when you came over here." Imita whispered back.  
  
"Then be quick about it!" Taka (Falcon) said as he glared at her. Imita bowed and then disappeared, then Taka (Falcon) turned and walked over to where Kento was standing.  
  
"Where did she go?" Kento asked angrily.  
  
"That's not any of your concern. If you must know, Imita is delivering a message to your Dream Walker as we speak." said a dark and cold voice that was coming from the shadows.  
  
Kento quickly turned around and he couldn't believe what he was seeing. "It can't be, there's no way that you could have survived." Kento said in surprise.  
  
"You two know each other, my dark entity?" Taka (Falcon) asked as the dark entity floated away from the corner of Taka's (Falcon's) chambers.  
  
"Yes, we've met. It was a long time ago, you see I once had possession of the Dream Walker, in body and soul, but for some reason she and this one here some how freed her from me. To this day, I've been planning my revenge, and soon I'll have it." the dark entity replied as it came closer to Kento.  
  
"You better get away from me, if you know what's good for you?" Kento warned angrily.  
  
"Don't worry, Kento of Hardrock, it's not you that I'm after. You see, Taka (Falcon) and Imita needed someone to help them get her daughter back. Who was I to prevent the family reunion, so I told them that I would give them unimaginable powers. But in turn, they would agree to only obey me." the dark entity replied coldly.  
  
"So what shall we do with him?" Taka (Falcon) asked as he looked over Kento.  
  
"Do with him as you see fit, but then throw him into the tower, and then we'll wait for the Dream Walker to come and save him." the dark entity replied as it disappeared. Taka (Falcon) approached Kento slowly, knowing full well that Kento was a worthy adversary. Kento took a defensive position right away, trying to keep his eyes on Taka (Falcon).  
  
Back at the Koji mansion, Kaye was still standing outside in her sub-armor, and looking towards the sky. "Kento, I swear, I'll get you back. She'll pay for what she did, I promise you." Kaye thought.  
  
"Guys, she's been standing out there for the last two hours. Why doesn't someone try and get her to come inside, or at least go out and talk to her?" Mia asked as she looked from the window and to the guys.  
  
"Don't you think that we've tried to Mia? But every time that one of us goes out there, she goes all non-responsive. Why don't you go out there and see if you can do any better?" Rowen asked.  
  
"Alright I'll do just that!" Mia said as she grabbed her coat and went outside to talk with her best friend.  
  
"Mia." Kaye said as she kept her gaze on the sky.  
  
"How did you know that it was me, and not one of the guys?" Mia asked as she walked up beside Kaye.  
  
"Easy, how can a girl not know her best friend? Besides, I could hear the yelling between you and Rowen." Kaye replied as she finally looked at Mia.  
  
"Kaye, the guys and I are just concerned about you. So why don't you talk to them? You know that it's not going to help anything if you keep it all to yourself." Mia said.  
  
"Yea, Mia, I know that, but it's my fault that Kento was taken. I should of went with her, because if I did then Kento would be here..." Kaye said as she was becoming sad again.  
  
"And you would be there, with them. How would you think that Kento would feel if you went with her huh? You know what happened wasn't your fault. What would Kento say if he was here? He wouldn't want you to keep blaming yourself over this, and you know it." Mia said sternly. Kaye looked at Mia and gave her a small smile.  
  
"Thanks, Mia." Kaye replied.  
  
"Anytime, now how about we both go inside before we freeze." Mia said as she started to walk over to the door.  
  
"Would ya give me a few minutes Mia?" Kaye asked. Mia nodded and went inside, Kaye looked at the sky one more time, and then started to walk towards the door. But just before she opened it, she felt a familiar presence.  
  
"Imita! Come on out and face me!" Kaye said as she took a defensive   
  
position.  
  
"Temper, temper, now I don't think that you got that from me." Imita taunted.  
  
"Where's, Kento, if you hurt him in any way I'll..." Kaye said angrily.  
  
"Now that's interesting, he said close to the same thing. You two must really care about each other to say something like that to me." Imita taunted again.  
  
"Enough! Are you here to tell me where I can find Kento or not?" Kaye asked as she glared at her. 


	6. chapter 6

(english translations)  
  
Inside, "Mia, how did it go with Kaye?" Cye asked in concern.  
  
"I got her to talk finally. but I could of sworn that she was right behind me." Mia replied as she looked back to where she came inside.  
  
"What the...Mia, get away from the door!" Rowen said as he quickly pulled her away from there. Just as Rowen pulled Mia away, Kaye flew through the door and landed face down on the floor.  
  
"Kaye, what happened!?" Cye asked as he rushed over to her. She groaned as she was slowly getting up.   
  
"I'm what happened, hello Ronin Warriors, we meet again." Imita said as she grinned evilly while floating in the doorway.  
  
"What do you want? Why are you here?" Ryo asked angrily as he glared at her.  
  
"I'm here to deliver a message to my daughter." Imita replied as she looked over to where Kaye was leaning onto Cye for support.  
  
"Whatever you have to say, we're not interested." Sage said coldly.  
  
"Not even if it's about your friend, Kento of Hardrock? Well then, if you're not interested in finding him, then I'll just leave." Imita taunted as she turned around and started to leave.  
  
"Wait!" Kaye said as she tried to stop Imita from leaving. She stopped and then turned to face Kaye with a smirk.  
  
"Yes?" Imita asked.  
  
"Where is he? Is he all right? You better tell me, or I'll..." Kaye warned.  
  
"Or you'll what?" Imita taunted.  
  
"This!" Kaye replied as she attacked Imita. Imita dodged Kaye's attack thinking that she missed. Kaye landed to the side and smirked.  
  
"What do you think that you are smiling about, you missed me with your attack?" Imita asked as she was staring at her.  
  
"Guess again, why don't you look in the mirror and see for yourself?" Kaye replied as she motioned over to the mirror that was across the room. Imita looked at Kaye in a skeptical manner, but then she complied none the less. When she looked, she couldn't believe it, Kaye did land her attack. A bruise was beginning to form around her eye.  
  
Imita suddenly became very angry, "If you ever want to see him ever again, I would be quiet and listen good because I'm only going to tell you this once." Imita replied.She then explained when and where they would have to meet, in order for them to go to where Kento was being held.   
  
"Do you understand what you have to do Karasu (Raven)?" Imita asked as she was about to leave.  
  
Kaye nodded her head, and then stared angrily at Imita. "One more thing before I go, here's something that I'm sure you'll recognize. Now don't be late, or otherwise you'll never see him ever again." Imita said as she produced a yellow headband out of thin air, and then threw it to the floor just before she disappeared. Slowly Kaye started to walk towards the yellow headband, picked it up and clutched it in her hand.   
  
"Kento." Kaye whispered as a single tear ran down her cheek. The guys and Mia looked at each other, not knowing what to say. Then Kaye started to walk up the stairs, while leaning onto the railing for support. Kaye finally made it to her room, she then shut the door behind her and leaned back. She closed her eyes, trying to hold back her tears of frustration.   
  
A quiet knock on the door startled her, "Kaye, it's Cye, come on open up ." Cye said as he called to her through the door.  
  
"Just a minute." Kaye replied as she turned around and opened the door. Kaye let Cye enter, she then shut the door behind him.  
  
Meanwhile...  
  
"If you know what's good for you, you'll get me out of here right now!" Kento said angrily as he thrashed around trying to break the chains.  
  
"Calm yourself, you're not going to do yourself any good if you keep going on like this." Taka (Falcon) said as he smirked.  
  
"When I'm out of here, I'm going to kick your sorry ass!" Kento replied as he glared angrily at him.  
  
"You are going to do nothing of the sort. Especially if I have anything to say about it. Besides, as long as I still have you, Karasu (Raven) will do everything as I say." Taka (Falcon) said with an evil grin. Kento just glared at Taka (Falcon), waiting for his chance to get back at him.  
  
"Is this a private party, or can anyone join in?" Imita asked as she appeared in the tower.  
  
"Imita, how did it go? Were you able to deliver your message?" Taka (Falcon) asked.  
  
"Instead of telling you, how about I show you." Imita replied as she brought up the images in front of them. As they watched what happened, Kento became more and more angry as he was forced to watch. Then Imita stopped the images, and turned towards Taka (Falcon) and grinned evilly.  
  
"You've done well Imita." Taka (Falcon) said as he praised his favorite assassin.  
  
"Thank you my lord." Imita replied as she bowed before him.  
  
"Now, if you'll excuse me, I better go and make sure that everything is ready for when our guests arrive. Imita, don't stay too long, I'm going to need your assistance soon." Taka (Falcon) said as he was about to leave.  
  
"Of course my lord." Imita replied as she watched Taka (Falcon) leave the tower.  
  
Imita then turned and grinned at Kento. "What are you grinning about?" Kento asked.  
  
"Soon, very soon I'll have my daughter back, and it's all thanks to you." Imita replied as she walked over to Kento.  
  
"Don't count on it!" Kento replied angrily.  
  
"You better hope that she comes, because if she doesn't, then you'll be here for a very, very long time." Imita said as she caressed Kento's face with the back of her hand. Kento pulled away, and then gave an icy glare. As Kento got a better look at Imita's face, he noticed that a bruise was forming around Imita's eye. He gave a small smirk as he noticed this.  
  
"What are you smiling about?" Imita asked.  
  
"Nothing, except for the bruise that you have around your eye. I'm betting Kaye had something to do with that." Kento replied with a smirk.  
  
"Enough! You know what, you don't have to be alive when my daughter trades herself for you." Imita said as she took her small dagger and pointed it at Kento's throat.  
  
"Try it and see what happens. I'm sure that when they find out that I'm dead, you're going to have more than a black eye to worry about." Kento said as he stared into her eyes.  
  
Imita lowered the dagger, "Forget it, you're not worth the trouble. Besides, my lord is expecting me, and I wouldn't want to keep him waiting." Imita replied as she disappeared.  
  
Kento let out a big breath of relief, "That was close, I thought for a minute that she would actually try and kill me. There has to be a way out of here. Come on, Kento, you have to think of something." Kento thought as he was looking around the tower.  
  
Back in Kaye's room, "Cye, I've just realized something." Kaye said as she looked down sheepishly at the floor.  
  
"What's that?" Cye asked as he looked at her in concern.  
  
"I've realized that, well ever since this whole thing started, finding out that my mother is alive, and now that Kento's gone. That I haven't asked on how the rest of you have been doing, I've been too wrapped up in my own feelings, to even see how this is effecting the rest of you. I'm sorry, Cye. Forgive me?" Kaye said as she kept her gaze on the floor.  
  
To say the least, Cye was kind of shocked by what she said. He then shook his head and smiled, "Kaye, there's nothing to forgive. You were just as confused and concerned as the rest of us, maybe more so. Everything will work out, you just need to have faith." Cye replied as he smiled.  
  
Kaye looked up at him, and then gave a small smile of her own. "Thanks, Cye, I guess that I just needed to hear that." Kaye replied.  
  
"Now that we've had this talk, how about we go back downstairs and join the others." Cye suggested as he walked over to the door. Kaye nodded and then they both went downstairs to see if any one came up with any kind of plan.When Cye and Kaye finally made it downstairs, they found their friends sitting quietly in the living room.   
  
"Hey, what's with everyone being so quiet?" Kaye asked. Everyone whirled around and saw that they were standing there in the entry way to the living room.  
  
"Kaye, are you all right?" Mia asked as she rushed up to her.  
  
"Yea, Mia, I'm alright. Did anyone come up with any kind of plan?" Kaye replied as she became serious.When no answer was give, Kaye knew that they were in major trouble.   
  
"Ok then, it looks like Imita has the upper hand in this deal." Sage said as they returned back to the living room.  
  
"Actually, Sage, I think it's more of a stand still. Because she has Kento, and I'm here, so that means as long as they keep him alive, they know that I'll do whatever they say." Kaye replied as she stared into the fire.  
  
"So then what are we suppose to do? Are we going to jump every time that they say jump, or what?" Ryo asked as he started to get annoyed.  
  
"No, not quite." Kaye replied as Lightning suddenly appeared next to her.Rowen stared at Kaye curiously for a few minutes, and then it finally hit him.   
  
"You have something in mind, don't you." Rowen said as he grinned.  
  
"Yea I do, but I don't think that any of you are going to like it." Kaye replied as she stroked the tiger's head.  
  
"Oh no you're not, no way! Are you out of your mind? Kaye, what could you be thinking? Forget about it!" Cye said as he figured out what she had planned.  
  
"Cye, it's like what you said to me upstairs, and I quote, everything will work out, you just need faith, unquote." Kaye replied as she glanced over at him.  
  
"Would you mind explaining what Cye's getting so upset about?" Mia asked as she looked over towards Kaye.  
  
"The reason he's getting upset, is because I'm planning on meeting Imita alone." Kaye explained as she got up from where she was sitting.  
  
"What! Kaye are you totally out of your mind? Did it ever occur to you that is exactly what she wants you to do? What happens if you do show up alone and she doesn't bring Kento with her, then she would have both of you?" Ryo asked as he quickly got up from his chair.  
  
"Would you hold on, you didn't let me finish what I was going to say. Now would you calm yourself and sit down already?" Kaye asked as she faced Ryo.  
  
Ryo was a little reluctant at first, but then he finally sat back down. "Ok you have our attention, so continue with what you were going to say." Ryo replied as he and the others put their full attention onto her.  
  
"Thank you, as I was saying, I'm going to meet Imita alone. Well I shouldn't say totally alone, I'll have Lightning with me. When she comes to the meeting, she'll take me back to where she's probably keeping Kento. Then as soon as I know that he's alive, I'll have Lightning teleport the   
rest of you to our location. But if things start to get intense, I'll have Lightning teleport us out of there. If anyone has any objections, now would be the time." Kaye explained as she looked around at each of them to see what their reaction would be.  
  
"I don't like it, but unfortunately, it's the only plan that we have at the moment. So I guess that we'll go with it." Ryo replied.  
  
"It's almost time for the meeting. We better get going, keep your fingers crossed and hope that this works." Kaye said as she looked at her watch.  
  
"Good luck, Kaye, and watch your back. I don't trust Imita as far as I can throw her." Rowen replied as he and the others stood up.  
  
"Thanks, Rowen, I have a feeling that I'm going to need it." Kaye replied. Just before Kaye and Lightning were about to leave, she noticed that when she looked over at Cye, there was something that she saw in his eyes that she couldn't quite understand. She then walked over to him, placed her hands on top of his shoulders, and looked into his eyes.  
  
"Don't worry, Cye, I'll make sure that Kento comes back safe and sound. I promise." Kaye said quietly. Cye nodded, Kaye then gave him a small smile, and then she walked over to Lightning. She looked over at them for a little while longer, and then disappeared. 


	7. chapter 7

(English translations)  
  
"Lightning, I can't believe you! How could you bring them here? You totally threw the plan out the window!" Kaye said as she stared angrily at her tiger.  
  
"Take it easy on him Kaye, he just wants to make sure nothing goes wrong. Besides, it's not all his fault anyway, just before you two disappeared we kinda, sorta hitched a ride." Rowen said in the tiger's defense.  
  
Kaye just shook her head, and then everyone decided to split up and look around. "Why is this place so familiar to me?" Kaye wondered.   
  
"Do you remember this place Karasu (Raven)?" Imita asked as she appeared out of nowhere. Both Kaye and Lightning turned around. The tiger got in front of Kaye and roared loudly at Imita, warning her that was close enough. Imita got the hint and stopped right where she was. The others were close enough to hear the roar, and then ran to where it was coming from. When they got there, they saw that Kaye and Imita were having a conversation.  
  
"Should I remember?" Kaye asked as she glared at her.  
  
"This was your home." Imita replied as she walked over to a clearing.  
  
"My home?" Kaye asked as she carefully followed her.  
  
"Yes, see over there, do you remember what happened?" Imita asked as she glanced back at her daughter.   
  
"No, I don't remember, and I don't want to." Kaye replied as she quickly turned her head away from there.  
  
"You are a terrible liar Karasu (Raven), you've always been. Now look again, and tell me that you don't remember." Imita said as she turned around and faced her.  
  
Kaye slowly turned her head back to the spot where her mother was talking about. A sudden flash back occurred. The images of the day that the invaders came flooding back, making Kaye fell to her knees. "Stop it! Someone make it stop! No more, no more!" Kaye yelled as she clutched her head.  
  
"Kaye! Dammit Imita, stop it! If you care anything for her, then you will make those images stop right now!" someone said from the shadows.  
  
The images that plagued Kaye's mind suddenly vanished, and then she looked over to the shadows where the voice came from. Kaye squinted to see if she could get a better look, she couldn't believe what, or actually who she saw. ""Kento? If it's you, say something, anything." Kaye said as she kept her eyes on the person that was hidden among the shadows.  
  
"Yea it's me. Kaye you shouldn't have came." Kento said as she stayed in the shadows.  
  
"Kento, what are you talking about? Of course I was going to come, why wouldn't I? Hey wait a minute, what's going on? Imita, what did you do to him?" Kaye asked.  
  
"I didn't do anything. What possible advantage would I have if I did?" Imita replied with a smirk.  
  
"I don't like this, something doesn't feel right." Sage said as he was looking around.  
  
"What do you mean Sage? Talk to me." Ryo said as he looked over at him by the corner of his eye.  
  
"I mean if that's actually Kento, then why won't he come out of the shadows? It sounds like him, but...I wonder." Sage replied as he brought his nodachi in front of him and closed his eyes. Sage's hunch was right, that wasn't Kento they were seeing, it was something else entirely, something of pure evil.  
  
"Kaye get away from there, that's not Kento!" Sage yelled.   
  
"Sage, wha..." Kaye replied as she saw what he was talking about. The figure in the shadows shifted from Kento's form and into the dark entity.   
  
"Remember me?" the dark entity asked as he glared at Kaye with its eyes glowing bright red. Kaye's mind screamed for her to run, but for some reason her body wouldn't move.   
  
"Imita, what's the meaning of this? Why are you siding with that, that thing?" Ryo asked as he looked between her and the dark entity.   
  
Imita gave an evil laugh, "This thing, as you call it, and I struck a bargain." Imita said as she gave an evil grin.  
  
"What kind of bargain?" Sage asked curiously while keeping his guard up.  
  
"I told Imita that I would assist in getting her daughter back." the dark entity hissed as it kept its eyes on Kaye.  
  
"And I promised that I would serve it without question. Enough talking, we are going to meet up with my lord Taka (Falcon), and we're going now!" Imita replied coldly. A swirl of clouds suddenly appeared around them. Then in a blink of an eye, they've all disappeared, leaving nothing but the charred ruins of an old village and an echoing of evil laughter.   
  
In the tower, Taka (Falcon) decided to check on his "guest." "How do you like your accommodations?" Taka (Falcon) asked with a sneer.  
  
"To be honest, I've seen better in a magazine called better lairs and towers. I think that you probably missed that one." Kento replied with a smirk.  
  
"That's enough out of you!" Taka (Falcon) said as he struck Kento a crossed the face.   
  
"Ok, that does it, he just got strike one." Kento thought as he glared at Taka (Falcon) angrily.   
  
"My lord, Imita is back, and she brought company." a guard said as he came up to the tower window.   
  
Taka (Falcon) nodded, and just as he was about to leave, he turned around and looked inside. "Sorry that we couldn't continue our little conversation, but I think that I better go and greet our guests." Taka (Falcon) said as he took one final look towards Kento, and then walked away.  
  
In the main chamber, Imita along with the dark entity and their "guests" were waiting for Taka's (Falcon's) arrival. "Soon, everything will come into play, and I will gain my true form once again." the dark entity thought as Taka (Falcon) came into the main chamber.  
  
"Imita, you've done well." Taka (Falcon) said as he looked over at their "guests."   
  
"Thank you my lord." Imita replied as she bowed.  
  
"Where's Kento? If you've hurt him, I'll personally tear out your so called heart, and feed it back to you." Kaye asked angrily as she glared at Taka (Falcon).  
  
"Kaye, don't! Calm down, this won't help Kento if you decide to go all ballistic." Cye said as he tried to calm her down.  
  
"It would be wise for you to listen to your friend, Karasu (Raven). Otherwise, who knows what might happen. Very well, if you're so insistent on seeing him, then come with me." Taka (Falcon) replied as he began to leave the main chamber.  
  
"Do you think that we can trust him?" Sage asked.  
  
"You don't exactly have a choice, now follow me if you want to see your friend." Taka (Falcon) replied as he took a quick look back and then continued to lead them to the tower.  
  
As Taka (Falcon) was leading the other Ronins and Kaye to Kento, Imita went to her chambers so she could rest, while the dark entity stayed in the main chamber. "He's in here." Taka (Falcon) said.  
  
Kaye looked inside of the tower, what she saw made her anger go through the roof. Kento was hanging from the wall, his body was bruised, bloody, and he was barely breathing. "Open this door!" Kaye said as she turned around and glared at Taka (Falcon).  
  
"As you wish." Taka (Falcon) replied with a grin. Taka (Falcon) opened the door, then Kaye and the other Ronins ran inside.   
  
"Oh God...Kento." Kaye whispered as she looked up at him with concerned eyes.  
  
Just as they were getting closer to where Kento was hanging, the door to the tower was slammed shut. "Don't even think of trying to escape. As you can see, there's nowhere that any of you can run. But if you think that you can, you are more than welcome to try." Taka (Falcon) said as he left them in the tower.   
  
A groan from Kento made them turn around, "Hey, is someone going to get me down from here? I don't feel like hanging around all day." Kento said as he was slowly coming to. Ryo quickly jumped up and cut Kento loose. Sage quickly went to Kento's side and started to heal him.   
  
Then as soon as Sage was done, Kaye knelt down beside him. "Kento, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." Kaye whispered as her tears flowed freely down her face.   
  
Kento slowly sat up against the wall, and looked into her eyes. "Hey take it easy, see I'm ok." Kento said as he tried to comfort her.   
  
"Well, this is interesting." Imita said as she appeared at the tower window.   
  
"What do you want?" Rowen asked as he and the others glared at her.  
  
"It's none of your concern, but if you must know, I've came for my daughter." Imita replied coldly.  
  
"She's not going anywhere with you. So you can just forget it!" Kento said as he held Kaye close to him.  
  
"Oh please, like there's anything that any of you can do about it. Guards, go and retrieve my daughter, by any means necessary." Imita replied as the guards entered the tower.   
  
As soon as the guards entered, Ryo, Rowen, Sage and Cye stood in front of the guards, trying to keep them away. "Kaye stay close to me alright." Kento said as he stood protectively in front of her. She nodded and then continued to watch her friends fight off the guards. It seemed like the fight was endless, no matter how many they knocked down, they kept on coming.   
  
"Guys, I'm not sure how long we can keep this up." Cye said as he blocked an attack.  
  
"I know, but we can't let them through." Ryo replied as he attacked a guard. Just then with a sudden burst, the guards pushed past the four Ronins and went towards the two that were behind them. Now the only one that kept the guards away, was Kento, and he wasn't exactly up to speed yet. Kento knew that he was getting overwhelmed, but he kept on fighting, he had to, or otherwise he would lose her.   
  
Somehow a couple of the guards got behind Kento, and grabbed Kaye. "Kento!" Kaye yelled as the guards were taking her away.   
  
"Let her go!" Rowen said as he and the others tried to get through the guards.   
  
"Sorry Ronins, but it's like I said, Karasu (Raven) is coming with me and there's nothing that any of you can do about it. Oh yea one more thing, if you do try to escape, and come after us, well let's just say that I won't be held accountable for what might happen." Imita replied as the guards brought Kaye next to her with her blade out and pointed at Kaye's throat.  
  
"Why are you doing this? If you do this, then you're nothing more than a heartless kaibutsu (monster)!" Sage said as he glared at her.  
  
"You'll know soon enough. Now if you gentlemen would excuse us, my daughter and I have an appointment to keep." Imita replied as they disappeared from the tower. 


	8. chapter 8

(English translations)  
  
In a different part of the assassin's camp, "Imita, what you and your so called master did to Kento is unforgivable. You'll both pay for what you've done, I swear it." Kaye said as she glared at her.   
  
Imita laughed, "I see that your assassin's instincts are starting to come around. Good, it's about time, you've avoided your unmei (destiny) for far too long." Imita replied coldly.  
  
"My what?" Kaye asked in confusion.  
  
Your unmei (destiny), you are destined to be the deadliest kind of assassin in history." Imita replied.  
  
"No, you're lying, I won't become an assassin! I won't!" Kaye replied.  
  
"There's no way that you can fight it, it's in your blood. Besides, I know that you have questions that you want to ask me about your past. We have some time before the mangetsu (full moon), so let's get down to it, shall we." Imita said as she sat down in front of her.  
  
"What's going to happen during the mangetsu (full moon)?" Kaye asked as she was trying to hide her fear.  
  
"You'll know when the time comes. I've been watching you, and I know that you've been wondering why things turned out like they did." Imita replied with a grin as she swung her blade very close to Kaye's neck.   
  
"Fine, if you've been watching me, then why haven't you tried to seek me out before?" Kaye asked.  
  
"Let's just say, there were some certain circumstances that prevented me from seeing you." Imita replied as she put down her blade.   
  
Kaye nodded her head, and then looked at Imita. "During this whole time, I've had no memories of my family, except for one." Kaye said as she lowered her head.  
  
"Which memory would that be, Karasu (Raven)?" Imita asked.  
  
"The day that the invaders came. When I saw you being killed right in front of me. That's all I can remember. I need you to answer my questions, will you do that for me at least?" Kaye asked quietly.  
  
"I suppose that you're entitled to know. Go ahead and ask away." Imita replied.  
  
"Why did you make me think that you were dead? Wasn't I good enough of a daughter for you? What did I do wrong? Did I shame you in some way? Please tell me who am I, where do I come from. What am I?" Kaye asked as she was fighting back her tears.  
  
"You do ask a lot of questions. All right, I'll tell you everything that you want to know. I made you think that I was dead, because I knew that you were different than the rest of the people in the village." Imita replied.  
  
"What do you mean by different?" Kaye asked as she looked up in Imita's face.  
  
"You were developing a new ability that no one has ever seen before. At first, the villagers thought that it would be an asset to them. But then when you were getting a couple of years older, they've decided that it was too dangerous to have you around. So they wanted to get rid of you. They didn't know about my alliance with the dark entity, yes Karasu (Raven), I was an ally with the dark entity before the invasion. Who else do you think would be strong enough to invade the village?" Imita said with an evil grin.  
  
"No it can't be true, you? You were the one that set up the invasion? But why?" Kaye asked in disbelief.  
  
"Weren't you listening, I did it for you. The massacre, the faking of my death, it was all for you." Imita replied angrily.   
  
"What about my father, did you kill him too?" Kaye asked as she stared at Imita with angry tear filled eyes.  
  
"No I didn't kill him, I loved him too much." Imita replied quietly.  
  
"I thought that assassins weren't suppose to have any kind of emotions. So why was my father any different?" Kaye asked as she tried to get Imita's attention.  
  
"Your father knew about your ability, since you were born. When he told me that you were somehow different from the people in the village, I told him that I had no choice but to kill you." Imita replied coldly.  
  
"So then when he tried to stop you, you killed him?" Kaye asked in a whisper.  
  
"No, a much worse fate than death was dealt to him." Imita replied as she turned around and looked out the window.  
  
"What happened? What did you do to my father!?" Kaye asked in anger as she grabbed Imita by the shoulders and turned her around. Imita, still having a hold onto her blade, as a reflex Imita sliced a crossed Kaye's side. Kaye quickly grabbed onto her side and fell to the ground.   
  
"Lady Imita, is everything alright in there?" a guard asked as they ran up to see what the commotion was all about.  
  
"Yes, everything is fine. Bandage her up, and then get her ready for the ceremony." Imita replied as she left the room while the guards did what she commanded.  
  
Imita continued to walk towards her chamber, until she felt a familiar presence. 'Inuzumi (Lightning), why don't you come out of the shadows?' Imita asked as she stopped walking.  
  
'Imita, how long did you know that I was there?' Lightning asked.  
  
'I have my ways. You were my husband, in a different lifetime, remember. Besides, I'm surprised that you didn't tell Karasu (Raven) who you really are.' Imita replied as she gazed onto the full moon.  
  
'What would make you think that she would believe me if I told her that I'm her father?' Lightning asked.  
  
'What makes you believe that she wouldn't?' Imita replied with a cold smile.  
  
'Imita, you know what the dark entity has planned is wrong. How could you just allow him to...' Lightning asked in anger.  
  
'The dark entity is too powerful, no one could face up to him and live.' Imita replied as she kept her gaze on the full moon.  
  
'You're wrong, Karasu (Raven) and her friends stood up to it, and they survived. How do you explain that?' Lightning asked.  
  
'Enough, it's almost time for the ceremony. If you don't want me to report seeing you to lord Taka (Falcon), then I would suggest that you disappear.' Imita replied as she continued to walk towards her chamber. Lightning watched her leave, before he decided to go and find the Ronin Warriors. He knew that he would need their help soon enough.   
  
In the tower, "I don't see why we can't just bust through the door, and trash this place!" Kento said angrily.  
  
"Kento, are you out of your mind? Use your head for once, don't you remember what Imita said about what would happen if we tried to escape?" Ryo asked as he got in front of him.  
  
"Come on Kento, you know that Ryo is right. Don't let your anger cloud your judgment." Sage replied as he stood next to Ryo.  
  
"I don't believe you two, Imita has Kaye stashed somewhere, doing who knows what, and you two tell me to calm down!" Kento said angrily.  
  
"Kento, it's not going to do anyone any good if you bust through that door. Besides, you're not fully recovered from what they did to you yet." Cye said as he firmly laid his hand onto Kento's shoulder.  
  
"You too Cye? You out of all people should know how I feel, so why are you stopping me?" Kento asked as he turned around and faced him.  
  
"I'm sorry my friend, but it's for your own good." Cye replied sternly.   
  
"Guys, quiet, I think that I hear something outside." Rowen said as he made his way to the back side window.  
  
"Rowen, what is it?" Ryo asked as they ran over to him.  
  
"Over there, in the shadows. Can't you see him?" Rowen asked.  
  
"Hey, that's..!" Kento said excitedly.   
  
"Kento, be quiet, do ya want to bring the guards down on us?" Sage asked as he tried to quiet him. Kento shook his head, and then Sage took his hand away from Kento's mouth.  
  
"Why is he just standing there?" Cye whispered.  
  
"Something must be up, or otherwise he wouldn't have come to get us." Rowen replied.  
  
Just then, Taka (Falcon) and a few of the guards showed up at the tower door. "I wonder what could be so interesting that you five would be looking out that particular window. Oh well it doesn't matter, it's time for the ceremony." Taka (Falcon) said as he motioned for the guards to surround them.  
  
"What ceremony, where's Kaye?" Kento asked in anger.  
  
"You'll find out in due time. If I were you, I wouldn't want to keep the dark entity waiting." Taka (Falcon) replied as he led them to where the ceremony would take place. 


	9. chapter 9

(English translations)  
  
"Where am I? I can't see anything. What's going on? Why can't I move?" Kaye thought angrily.  
  
"It would be wise if you would stop your struggling. You'll only hurt yourself more." a voice hissed.  
  
Realizing who was talking to her, Kaye froze with fear. "Get away from me." Kaye replied as she tried to find her voice.  
  
"Why don't we take off that blindfold so you can see better." the dark entity replied as he motioned to Imita. Imita nodded, and then walked over to Kaye, and removed the blindfold. Kaye blinked a few times so she could focus her vision.   
  
"There, now isn't that better?" Imita asked with an evil grin as she stepped back from her.  
  
Just as Imita stepped back, Taka (Falcon) and his guards arrived with the Ronins. "Kaye! Get her off of that thing, right now!" Kento said as his eyes flared with anger.  
  
"No I don't think so, it's time for Karasu (Raven) to fulfill her unmei (destiny)." Taka (Falcon) replied with an evil grin.  
  
"What unmei (destiny)? What do you mean?" Ryo asked in anger.  
  
"Why don't you gentlemen hang around and find out for yourselves." Taka (Falcon) replied as he magically forced them onto the pillars.  
  
"Imita it's time, bring me the soul stone." the dark entity said as he began the ceremony. Imita nodded and shortly came back with the soul stone and placed it a few feet away from Kaye.   
  
"Soon, I'll be whole again!" the dark entity said as he got between them. Kaye tried to struggle out of her bonds, but each time that she struggled, the bonds became tighter and tighter. Then it began to glow, and the dark entity started to slowly take form.   
  
"This can't be happening! This can't be real, but somehow I know that it is" Kaye thought as tears were flowing freely down her face. The stitches on Kaye's side flew open, as the blood flowed down her side.   
  
"No! Dammit, we have to do something!" Kento said as he and the others watched from above.  
  
"As long as were stuck up here, we can't do a dam thing!" Ryo replied angrily.  
  
"Stop! That's enough!" a voice said from the shadows.  
  
"Who's there?" the dark entity hissed, as he was halfway through his transformation.  
  
"I'm surprised that you don't remember me. You should, especially after what you turned me into, you should of killed me when you had the chance." the voice replied as the figure stepped out of the shadows.  
  
"Inuzumi (Lightning), I was wondering when you were going to show up." the dark entity said as it turned it's head to face him.  
  
"Did you think that I would allow you to take my daughter's soul?" Lightning asked as he turned from a form of a tiger, to a form of a man.  
  
"Father, he's. He's my father?" Kaye asked in confusion.  
  
"By her confusion Inuzumi (Lightning), I take it that you didn't tell her. How interesting, I suppose the ceremony could be put on delay while I take care of you." the dark entity replied as the soul stone stopped glowing.   
  
The dark entity turned his head from Inuzumi (Lightning) and back to Kaye. "This won't take long, after I take care of your father, then I'll finish with you." the dark entity said as he caressed her face with the back of his hand.   
  
"Now demon, we will continue the fight that we had those many years ago." Inuzumi (Lighting) said as he faced off with the dark entity.  
  
"I've been waiting a long time Inuzumi (Lightning). You're right I should have killed you, instead of changing you into a tiger. It would have been much easier." the dark entity replied as he began the fight with Inuzumi (Lightning).  
  
"It looks like your himitsu (secret) is finally out Inuzumi (Lightning), and your daughter isn't taking it very well." the dark entity said as he swiped at Inuzumi's (Lightning's) side.   
  
Lightning quickly looked over to where Kaye was strapped down to the ceremonial table. Her eyes showed a mixture of hurt, anger and sadness all at the same time. Lightning quickly adverted his eyes away from her, and then glared over at the dark entity in front of him. "Come now Inuzumi (Lightning), how long did you think that you could protect your daughter from her destiny? I will have her soul, and she'll become the most fear assassin in history. Why would you deny her that?" the dark entity asked with an evil glint in its eyes.  
  
"As long as I live, I won't allow you to complete this ceremony! Now die demon!" Inuzumi (Lightning) replied as he lunged for the dark entity. Just as Lightning was about to go in for the kill, the dark entity was quicker and thrust his short blade into Inuzumi's (Lightning's) heart.   
  
"Lightning...no, father!" Kaye yelled as she watched in horror as Lightning fell to the ground and changed back into a tiger. The dark entity laughed, and then started to walk over to Kaye.  
  
'Karasu (Raven).' Lightning said weakly.  
  
'Lightning, when were you going to tell me that you were my father?' Kaye asked.  
  
'If I told you, were you going to believe me?' Lightning asked.  
  
'I might of, if you would of given me the chance.' Kaye replied.  
  
"Sorry, but I think that you've had more than enough time to say goodbye. Now if you don't mind, I think that we shall proceed with the ceremony." the dark entity said as he got back between Kaye and the soul stone.   
  
"No! I'm the only one that controls my destiny, no one else! I won't become an assassin, I won't!" Kaye said angrily as she tried again to get out of her bonds.  
  
"Such spirit, this is going to be a lot more enjoyable that I thought. Soul stone, hear my plea take this one's soul and transfer it to me." the dark entity said as the soul stone began to glow. Kaye's movements were starting to slow down the brighter that it glowed. Then as it reached it's peak, all was still. A loud roar erupted from the dark entity, as Kaye's soul entered its body.   
  
"Kaye!" Kento yelled grief stricken as he and the others watched helplessly from the pillars.  
  
"It's done! I'm whole again!" the dark entity said as he was laughing.   
  
"Give back Kaye's soul!" Sage yelled as they were trying to get loose.  
  
"Give it back? Are you serious? There's no way that I can just give her soul back, especially since now that I'm whole again. So you can just forget it, but if you think that you can take it back from me, then go for it." the dark entity replied as he released the Ronins from the pillars.  
  
"You want a fight, then you got one! Armor of Inferno!" Ryo yelled.   
  
"This should provide to be an interesting fight." the dark entity said with an evil grin.   
  
While the fight between the Ronins and the dark entity was going on, Imita was cutting Kaye free. "This isn't how it was suppose to be. How could have I been so foolish? All I wanted was my daughter back." Imita thought as she was kneeling next to Kaye on the ground. 


	10. chapter 10

(English translations)  
  
"Put her soul back!" Kento yelled enraged as he glared at the dark entity.  
  
"As I already told your friend. If you want me to do that, then you have to come and get it." the dark entity replied with an evil grin.   
  
"Ryo, do it! Use the Inferno!" Kento said as he kept his eyes on it.  
  
"Kento, I don't know what'll happen if I use it. I don't want to risk hurting Kaye while her soul is trapped inside." Ryo replied angrily.  
  
"Ryo!" Kento said angrily.  
  
"You haven't changed from the last time that we met. You're still as hardheaded as ever. Don't you get it? Your friend is right, if you hurt me, then you hurt your precious dream walker." the dark entity replied with a cold grin.  
  
"No! You're lying!" Kento said with anger in his eyes.  
  
"I see that a demonstration is in order. Very well, if that is what it's going to take to convince you, then so be it." the dark entity replied as he took out a small blade and made a cut across his open hand. From where Kaye was laying, she made a loud scream of pain as blood ran down her hand.  
  
Cye gritted his teeth in pain, trying to keep himself from yelling out. "What's this? How come my hand is bleeding? It doesn't make sense." Cye thought as he tightened his hand onto his yari to stop the bleeding.  
  
"Stop it! That's enough! We get your point." Rowen said angrily as he glared at it.  
  
"Now I would suggest that you call off that armor. Unless of course, you want her to suffer more," the dark entity replied as he brought the small blade up again.  
  
"All right you win. Ryo call it back! Call it back now!" Cye said angrily. The others looked back at Cye in confusion. Ryo nodded and then he called back the Inferno.  
  
"Cye, what's the deal? You never lose your cool like this. So why now?" Sage asked. Cye gave no response; he just kept glaring at the dark entity in anger.   
  
"It looks like you have at least one sensible person in your group. Now the question is, what am I going to do with you?" the dark entity wondered.   
  
"I don't know why, but for some reason I want to help those annoying Ronins. Is it because of what that thing did to my daughter? Or because of something else? I do know one thing, the longer that I hesitate, the shorter the time my daughter will have to get her soul back." Imita thought, as she got ready to attack.   
  
"You monster! You said that you would give me my daughter, not suck her soul into that stone!"   
Imita said in extreme anger.  
  
"Imita, I'm surprised at you. You should have realized that I had something else in mind when I made you that promise. I guess that you must be slipping." the dark entity replied as he turned around and grinned at her.  
  
"Slipping? I'll show you who's slipping!" Imita said as she dived at the dark entity with her daggers pointed at it.   
  
"Imita, no!" Rowen yelled as he shot a couple of arrows towards her pinning her to a nearby pillar.  
  
"You fool! What do you think that you're doing?" Imita asked in anger.  
  
"I was trying to save Kaye's life. Didn't you see what the dark entity did to its hand?" Rowen asked angrily.  
  
"Of course I saw!" Imita replied as she glared at him.  
  
"Then why did you attack him?" Sage asked in anger.  
  
"Yes Imita, tell them. Why did you decide to attack me?" the dark entity asked coldly.  
  
"I wasn't attacking you directly! I was trying to get at the stone that's in your chest! To get my daughter's soul back, that stone has to be destroyed." Imita replied.  
  
"Is what she's saying true?" Cye asked as he glared at it.  
  
"Yes, it's true. The only way to free the souls that are trapped inside of this stone is for it to be destroyed. Enough of this chit chat, it's time for me to get rid of you annoying pests," the dark entity said as it began it's attack on the Ronins.   
  
Just then, "I won't let you hurt them!" Kaye said as she stopped him before he could attack.  
  
The Ronins looked at the frozen body of the dark entity in complete confusion. "Kaye?" Kento asked.  
  
"Yea. Listen, I don't know how long that I can hold him. You have to get out of here." Kaye replied.  
  
"What! Kaye no, forget it! I'm not leaving here without you!" Kento said stubbornly.  
  
"Dammit Kento! Go! You and the others can come back for me." Kaye replied.  
  
"Kento, I don't want to admit it, but Kaye's right. That thing has a major advantage against us. We have to fall back." Rowen said as he firmly gripped Kento's shoulder.  
  
"No, I'm not leaving her!" Kento replied angrily as he hit off Rowen's hand.  
  
"I'm sorry Kento, but it's for your own good." Ryo said as he applied some kind of pressure technique so that Kento would become unconscious.   
  
"Kaye, I promise that we'll be back for you." Ryo said as Sage and Rowen picked Kento up and started to carry him away.  
  
"I know you will Ryo. I'll fight him as long as I can. Now go." Kaye replied as he and the others kept going. A loud scream suddenly filled the air, making Ryo stop and take a look back.  
  
He was just about to go back, until someone grabbed him from behind. "Ryo come on!" Cye said as he pulled Ryo along with him.   
  
Shortly, "Amazing, you still fight me even though I have your soul. You thought that you would be saving them from me. Don't worry, I know that all of you will be together," the dark entity said as he got control over himself again.   
  
"Karasu (Raven)." Imita whispered in surprise.  
  
"Taka (Falcon), take this traitor and get her ready for the ceremony." the dark entity said as it walked over to her.  
  
"Of course master. But what do you want me to do with her?" Taka (Falcon) asked as he pointed over to Kaye's body.  
  
"Don't you worry, I'll take care of that little detail myself," the dark entity replied.  
  
"Yes my lord, but what about the Ronins?" Taka (Falcon) asked, as he was getting ready to follow his master's orders.  
  
"They are right now of no concern to me," the dark entity said, as he got ready to take Imita's soul.  
  
"I knew that you would turn on me someday." Imita said as she glared at the dark entity.  
  
"Of course I was. You are no longer needed, soon you will be reunited with your daughter just like you wanted. Well maybe not exactly, but you'll still be together." the dark entity replied as he set the soul stone down and began the ceremony. A loud roar could be heard for miles, Imita's soul was now inside of the stone.  
  
"That was definately satisfying. Go and keep watch, I'm sure that those annoying pests will come back sometime tonight." the dark entity ordered.   
  
"Soon I'll be rid of those Ronins, and then the whole world will be mine." the dark entity thought as he gave an evil laugh. 


	11. chapter 11

"Hurry up, and get in here. Unless of course you want those assassins to find you." Ryo said as he and Cye ducked inside of a nearby cave.  
  
"Ryo, let's see how fast you can go when you're carrying an unconscious Kento." Sage replied as he and Rowen finally made it inside.  
  
"Guys, now isn't the time to get into it." Rowen said as he and Sage finally set Kento down.   
  
"Cye, you've been pretty quiet, even for you. Is everything ok?" Ryo asked in concern as he looked over to him.  
  
"Huh, oh ah yea Ryo, just fine. Listen, I'm going to go and scout around to see what's going on." Cye replied, as he was about to leave.  
  
"Are you crazy? You're not going out there by yourself! At least let me come with you, incase there's trouble." Rowen said.  
  
"There's no need for you to come Rowen. Besides, Sage is going to need you to stay here and help him keep Kento from killing Ryo." Cye replied as he looked back.  
  
"Cye, just be careful out there." Ryo said.  
  
"Don't worry, I'll be just fine." Cye replied as he left. As the others watched him leave, a   
groan from behind made them quickly turn around.  
  
"Man, does my head hurt." Kento said as he was trying to get up.  
  
"Hey Kento, it's about time that you came around." Sage said with a smirk.  
  
"Where are we?" Kento asked in confusion.  
  
"We're in a cave that's not too far from the assassin's camp." Rowen replied.  
  
"What are we doing here? Why aren't we back there trying to get Kaye's soul back?" Kento asked angrily as he was starting to remember.  
  
"There wasn't any choice, we had to get out of there." Sage replied.  
  
"I can't believe that you wanted us to just leave her there! Ryo, how could you?" Kento asked as he was about to strangle him.  
  
Sage and Rowen quickly got a hold of Kento, but they were having a little trouble haning on.   
  
"Kento calm down, believe me, none of us wanted to leave Kaye there, especially Ryo!" Rowen replied sternly.  
  
"Then why did he put me under like he did?" Kento asked.  
  
"I'm sorry, but it was for your own good. Use your head for once Kento! That thing has a major   
  
advantage, whatever damage that we would have given it, then Kaye would feel it too." Ryo   
  
replied as he looked at Kento straight in the eyes.  
  
Kento stopped thrashing around in anger long enough for what Ryo said to sink in. "Ryo, I'm   
  
sorry, it's just that..." Kento said quietly as he looked down.  
  
"I know Kento, I know. Sage, Rowen let him go." Ryo replied as he looked at him.  
  
"Ryo." Sage said as he looked at him in disbelief.  
  
"Just do it Sage." Ryo replied as Sage and Rowen reluctantly let go of him. Just as they let go, Kento quickly looked up and delivered a punch right at Ryo's stomach making him fall to his knees.  
  
"Ryo!" Rowen said as he and Sage quickly went over to him and helped him up.  
  
"Kento! There was no call for you to hit Ryo like that!" Sage said as he glared at him.  
  
"Back off Sage, unless you want the same!" Kento replied angrily.  
  
"Sage, don't that's enough." Ryo replied as he was standing up.  
  
"But Ryo..." Rowen said.  
  
"Rowen, I understand why he punched me, and I don't blame him. If you saw what I did when I looked into his eyes, you would understand too. Now, all we have to do is wait for Cye to get back..." Ryo replied.  
  
"Get back? Where did he go? Someone better tell me!" Kento asked as he looked at them.   
  
"Cye went out to scout around." Ryo replied.  
  
"What! How long has he been gone? Shouldn't we go out there and look for him?" Kento asked in concern.  
  
"Relax Kento, he hasn't been gone for very long. So there's no need to go out looking, he'll be back soon." Rowen replied as he reassured him.  
  
Meanwhile...  
  
"Looks like no one's around. I guess that now's a good as time as any." Cye thought as he called back his armor and sub armor. He took another quick look around, noticing that the coast was clear, he quickly went over to a small lake that he spotted not too far from the cave. He then knelt down and washed off the dried blood from his hand. Then he tore a piece off from his shirt and then wrapped his hand.   
  
"I'm still confused. Why did I feel the same pain that Kaye felt when the dark entity cut along its hand? I mean why now, it doesn't make any sense. Now is definitely not the time to be trying to figure this out. I better hurry up and get back to the others before they come out and look for me." Cye thought as he called back his armor and quickly made it back to the cave.  
  
Back at the cave, "I don't care what you say, I'm going out there and look for him." Kento said, as he was just about to leave.  
  
"There's no need to do that, but it's nice to know that someone cares." Cye said with a smirk as he entered the cave.  
  
"Cye, you're all right!" Kento said happily.  
  
"Well of course." Cye replied with a smirk.  
  
"Hey Cye, what did you find when you were out there?" Ryo asked.  
  
"Nothing much, it's pretty quiet, almost too quiet. It's like they're waiting for something." Cye replied as he leaned back onto the wall.  
  
"Yea, they're waiting for us." Kento said as he leaned back against the opposite wall.  
  
"Well, now what? We can't exactly walk in there and say, hey here we are come and get us." Sage asked.  
  
"Who says that we can't?" Kento asked as he gave a mischievous smile.  
  
"Kento! Are you crazy? You have something in mind don't you?" Rowen asked as he looked at him skeptically.  
  
"Actually, yea I do. But I don't think that you're going to like it." Kento replied with a glint of mischief in his eyes. 


	12. chapter 12

(English translations)  
  
"I can't believe that we're going along with this? Does anyone else see how crazy Kento's plan is?" Sage asked in disbelief.  
  
"I know Sage, but unfortunately no one else had any ideas. So we're going along with his, besides it's too late to think of something else now." Ryo replied.  
  
"I just hope that he knows what he's doing." Sage said as he, Cye and Ryo were waiting for the signal.  
  
"Don't worry Sage, he knows what he's doing." Cye replied.  
  
"At least I hope so, for all our sakes." Cye thought as he kept his eyes open.  
  
Further into the camp, "Kento, I'm going on record by telling you. This plan of yours is one of the craziest ones that you've ever came up with." Rowen whispered as they continued their search.  
  
"Hey, I didn't hear anyone else come up with anything. No!" Kento whispered back angrily.  
  
"Kento, what? What is it?" Rowen whispered.   
  
"Kaye." Kento said angrily as he saw that she and Imita were hanging in midair.  
  
"Kento wait! If you run over there now, you're plan is going to fall apart. Now come on and get it together!" Rowen replied as he was trying to restrain him.   
  
Just then Taka (Falcon) showed up. "hmm, I wonder what's taking those pesky Ronins so long. I thought that they would be here by now." Taka (Falcon) thought as he approached Kaye's hanging body, "it's too bad that she has to go through this," while he took his hand and caressed her face and then walked away with a grin.  
  
"Ok, that's strike two!" Kento thought, as his anger was getting closer to the boiling point.  
  
"Kento are you ready? Kento!" Rowen asked as he was trying to get his attention.  
  
"Huh, yea Rowen, I'm ready." Kento replied with anger starting to rage in his eyes.  
  
"Kento, you have to stay focused! This isn't the time to lose it! Do you understand what I'm saying?" Rowen asked as he turned him around.  
  
"Would you stop already? I hear you. I'm not going to blow it." Kento replied, as he got ready to go.  
  
"Hey Kento." Rowen said.  
  
"Yea what?" Kento replied as he gave a quick look of annoyance back at him.  
  
"Good luck!" Rowen said with a smirk.  
  
"Thanks, I'm gonna need it." Kento replied as he took off.  
  
Meanwhile...  
  
"My lord, is it wise to leave them there right out in the open?" Taka (Falcon) asked as he glanced over at it.  
  
"Are you questioning me Taka (Falcon)? I sincerely hope not, because if you are, then you can join them." the dark entity replied as it glanced back.  
  
"No my lord, it's just that..." Taka (Falcon) said as he tried to regain his composure.  
  
"Quiet! Look over there, isn't that one of the Ronins?" the dark entity asked as it spotted Kento slowly making his way to Kaye and Imita.  
  
"It is, but where are the other four?" Taka (Falcon) asked as he kept his eyes on the scene.  
  
"Where there's one, the others are not too far behind. But for now, just sit back and watch the show. It should provide to be most entertaining." the dark entity replied as it raised both of its hands, acting like a puppeteer, and started to make Kaye and Imita move.  
  
"What's going on? How could they be moving?" Kento thought as he watched in confusion.   
  
"He's totally confused, he actually has no idea that you're the one that's controlling them." Taka (Falcon) said in delight.  
  
"Of course he doesn't. Even though he can't see them, my webs are spread throughout the center of the camp. But if he, or anyone else gets tangled inside of the webs, well let's just say that they might lose their head." the dark entity replied as it smiled.  
  
"What the? Kaye stop, it's Kento, don't you recognize me?" Kento asked as Kaye's body attacked him.  
  
Not too far away, "Sage, can you see what's controlling her?" Ryo asked as they continued to watch Kento avoid getting hit by her, while some how at the same time for some reason he was slowing down.  
  
Sage brought up his nodachi and saw how she was being controlled. "Ryo, there's some kind of webbing that's spread around the entire center of the camp. It looks like some how the dark entity is using Kaye as a puppet to attack Kento." Sage replied as he lowered his nodachi.  
  
Just before Ryo could warn Kento, they saw him get pulled back into a tree. "What is this stuff? I can't move!" Kento thought as he tried to get free.  
  
"Kento!" Cye said, as he was about to run out to him.  
  
"Cye, don't! That webbing is all over the place. You might get tangled up just like him if you go out there." Sage said as he held him back.  
  
The sound of laughter filled the air, as Taka (Falcon) and the dark entity emerged from the shadows. "How do you like my puppets?" the dark entity asked as it gave an evil grin.  
  
"Why are you doing this? You have their souls, what else do you want?" Kento asked angrily as he kept his eyes on them.   
  
"There's only one more thing that I could possibly want, and that's...revenge!" the dark entity said as it tightened the webbing that is holding Kento to the tree.  
  
Kento held back screaming from the intense pain. He could feel the webbing cutting through his armor and into his skin. "You coward! You have to rely on some kind of hocus pocus to defeat me. Now that's pathetic, why don't you face me in a fair fight?" Kento challanged as he glared at the dark entity.  
  
"No I don't think so. Instead of a fight, I'll just take your soul instead." the dark entity said as it took out the soul stone from it's chest and held it about it's head.  
  
"That's it! That's the signal! Here goes nothing." Rowen thought as he pulled back on his bow and fired directly at the stone. Rowen's arrow made a direct hit, and then it shattered into a million pieces. The webbing that was holding Kento back into the tree went slack. Then he, Kaye and Imita fell to the ground. Small balls of light flew in all different directions, searching for where they belong. Kento looked over to where Kaye and Imita were laying, he could tell that they were coming around.   
  
Kaye opened her eyes, looked up and saw Kento giving her a small smile to show how relieved he was that she is back. Kaye smiled back and then slowly started to stand.   
  
"No! This can't be happening! I have to get away, Taka (Falcon) take care of him!" the dark entity ordered as it was escaping.   
  
Taka (Falcon) charged full speed at Kento, who was still on the ground. "Kento watch out!" Kaye warned.   
  
Just as he was going to attack, Kento rolled out of the way, and then struck him on the back of the head making Taka (Falcon) go face first into the dirt.  
  
"That was strike three." Kento said as he got up and walked over to Kaye.  
  
"Hey Kento, are you all right?" Rowen asked as he and the other Ronins finally made it over to them.  
  
"Yea Rowen, I'm just fine. But do you think that next time, you could of cut it any closer? What the heck were you waiting for anyway?" Kento asked in annoyance.  
  
"Hey, you told me to wait for your signal, so I did." Rowen replied with a smirk.  
  
"Guys, mind if we continue this some other time. Hey wait a minute, where did Imita go?" Kaye asked as she noticed that she wasn't there.  
  
"I saw her run that way." Ryo replied as he pointed in the direction that the dark entity also retreated to.  
  
"Come on, even in their weakened condition, we can't let her face that thing alone." Kaye said as she started to take off. The guys knew that this wasn't exactly over just yet. They looked at each other, and then took off after her.  
  
Kaye took a quick look back and grinned, "what took ya so long?" Kaye asked while they finally caught up with her.  
  
"Never mind, let's just find those two, and put an end to this thing and go home." Kento replied. Kaye nodded and then they continued to run, until they heard sounds of a fight as they were getting closer and closer to the dark entity's chamber.  
  
"You wretch! How could you? You dare strike me down with the demon slayer's sword!?" the dark entity said as it grabbed onto its stomach, and fell to the ground just as they rounded the corner.  
  
"It's over, it's finally over." Imita said as she looked over to Kaye and began to walk over to her. Just as she was almost there, the dark entity slowly got up behind Imita, and punched his sharp claws right through her back, making her fall to the ground.  
  
"No! Imita...mother!" Kaye exclaimed as she ran over to where Imita was laying.   
  
"Kaye, wait! Ah! Thunder...bolt...cut!" Sage yelled as he released his sure-kill towards the dark entity hitting his target and making it disappear once and for all.  
  
"Mother, talk to me. Please, say something, anything." Kaye whispered as she knelt down and held onto her hand.  
  
Imita gave a small smile, "Karasu (Raven), I've been waiting a long time for you to say that. But there's something that you have to know." Imita replied.  
  
"What, what do I have to know?" Kaye asked.  
  
"I'm sorry, I've...I've lied to you." Imita replied.  
  
"What did you lie about? Tell me!" Kaye said in confusion.  
  
"I'm not your real mother." Imita replied as she gasped for air.  
  
"What do you mean?" Kaye asked.  
  
Imita looked into Kaye's eyes, and began to tell her story. "You see, a long time ago, your father had two babies, a son and a daughter. At the time, he wasn't married to this woman, but when he came back and told me about the births. I told him in order to prove his love to me, he would have to take you away from your mother and bring you here to me." Imita replied sadly.  
  
"NO! You're lying! He wouldn't do that, he wouldn't!" Kaye said as tears were now falling freely down.  
  
"I'm sorry Karasu (Raven), but what I'm telling you is the truth." Imita replied sadly.  
  
"Then, you know who my real mother is! Who is she?" Kaye asked angrily.  
  
"She's..." Imita replied as she suddenly took in her last breath, slowly closed her eyes, and died.  
  
"Imita, Imita! NO!" Kaye yelled into the night while her tears continued to flow freely. 


	13. epilogue

Disclaimer #2: I don't own the song Journey to the Past. From the Anastasia motion picture soundtrack. Aaliyah is the rightful owner. {Lyrics}  
=================================================================================================  
Epilogue:  
  
Kaye stood and watched as the fire consumed the bodies of Imita and Lightning. Tears were flowing down like a river, because of the pain in her heart was so unbearable she couldn't hold it in any more.   
  
{Heart don't fail me now}  
{Courage don't desert me, dont turn back now that we're here}  
{People always say life is full of choices}   
{No one ever mentions fear}  
{Or how the world can seem so long}  
{Or how the world can seem so vast}  
{Courage see me through}  
  
None of the guys knew what to say to her. So they just stood behind her quietly.   
  
{Heart I'm trusting you, on this journey to the past}  
{Somewhere down this road, I know someone's waiting}  
{Years of dreams just can't be wrong}  
{Oh arms will open wide, I'll be safe and wanted}  
{Finally home where I belong}  
{Well starting here my life begins}  
{Starting now im learning fast}  
{Courage see me through}  
{Heart I'm trusting you, on this journey to the past}  
  
"Kaye." Kento said quietly as he gently laid his hand onto her shoulder.  
  
{Heart don't fail me now}  
{Courage don't desert me (courage see me through)}  
  
"Kento, ever since this whole crazy thing started, I've been questioning who I am. Where I come from, and when I think that I have it figured out. I have more questions than answers, I don't know, maybe I'm not suppose to know." Kaye whispered back as she continued to watch the flames.  
  
{Home, love, family; there was once a time I must have had them too}  
{Home, love, family; I will never be complete until I found you (heyyy)}  
{One step at a time}  
{One hope then another}  
{Who knows where this road may go?}  
{Back to who I was}  
{On to find my future}  
{Still my heart still needs to know}  
  
"Now you listen to me. You're Kaye, the wearer of the Tiger Armor. You're the dream walker, and most importantly you're the one that captured my heart, from the first time that we met." Kento replied as he brought her into his embrace.  
  
{Yes let this be a sign}  
{Let this road be mine}  
{Let it lead me to my past}  
{Courage see me through}  
{Heart I'm trusting you}  
{To bring me home}  
{At last (hold out note)}  
{At last (hold out note)}  
  
"Kento." Kaye whispered as she leaned back into him.  
  
{Ooohhh (courage see me through, heart im trusting you)}   
{Hey yeah (heyeah)}   
{Hey yeah (yeahooowhoah)}  
{Courage see me through, heart oh heart I'm trusting you}  
  
"Let's go home." Kento whispered.   
  
Kaye nodded and started to follow him, but just before they left she looked back one more time, "goodbye." Kaye whispered as she left her charred past behind. 


End file.
